* 


iATIK  AND  OTHER 
PATTERN  DYEING 


V 


rv 


«f.p. 


BATIK  AND  OTHER 
PATTERN  DYEING 


BY 


WALTER  DAVIS  BAKER 


IDA  STRAWN  BAKER 


OF 


THE  WALDCRAFT  STUDIOS 

INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA 


1920 


ATKINSON,  MENTZER  &  COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT    1920    BY 

ATKINSON,  MENTZER  &  COMPANY 

ALL   RIGHTS  RESERVED 


THE  CONTENTS 


I 

History   and   Character   of  Batiks 11 

II 

The   Principles   of   Dyeing   Fabrics 35 

III 

Wax   Resist  Processes 54 

IV 

Batiks  and  Other  Illuminated  Textiles 75 

V 

Dyeing  for  Plays  and  Pageants 97 

VI 

Tie-Dyed   Work 109 

VII 

Stick  Printing,  Block  Printing  and  Stencil  Dyeing. ..  .123 


2040090 


THE  PREFACE 


ONE  of  the  hopeful  observations  during  the  few 
years  of  applied  art  education  in  our  schools  has 
been  the  readiness  with  which  educators  have  taken 
up  and  kept  problems  in  which  the  mediums  of  ex- 
pression were  practical  and  efficient,  suitable  for  the 
purpose  intended,  and  the  equal  readiness  with  which 
they  have  dropped  other  problems. 

The  burning  of  wood  as  a  means  of  decoration  did 
not  stand  this  test,  therefore  it  had  to  go.  Oil  paint 
is  not  a  suitable  medium  to  decorate  textiles,  therefore 
it  too  has  nearly  fallen  from  use. 

The  value  of  applied  art  to  home  and  community 
rests  upon  the  test,  whether  the  pupil  who  works  out 
the  problems  becomes  by  virtue  thereof  a  more  useful 
and  cultured  individual  in  the  home  and  in  the  social 
and  industrial  life  of  the  community. 

A  problem  which  satisfies  this  test  becomes  a  basic 
problem.  To  a  pupil  who  has  once  bound  a  book 
with  its  cover  design,  end  papers,  etc.,  a  book  is  a 
different  thing  ever  after.  He  becomes  a  more  in- 
telligent and  cultured  member  of  the  consuming 
public  so  far  as  books  are  concerned.  To  the  de- 
mands of  many  such  members  the  book  binders  re- 

Page  jour 


spond  with  better  things.     Therefore  book  binding  is 
a  basic  problem. 

Similar  reasoning  applies  when  a  student  weaves 
a  fabric,  plans  and  makes  an  article  of  dress,  a  toy, 
a  silver  ring,  or  a  poster. 

No  one  will  dispute  that  the  all-over  dyeing  of  a 
fabric,  and  the  decoration  of  a  textile  with  a  dyed 
pattern,  are  basic  problems.  The  recent  war  brought 
home  the  vital  place  that  dyes  hold  in  the  life  of  the 
people. 

As  suitable  materials  have  become  available 
teachers  have  been  eager  to  learn  and  use  these 
problems. 

It  is  seldom  that  an  applied  problem  comes  to  the 
art  teacher  that  offers  in  so  full  a  measure  the  essen- 
tial features  of  a  basic  problem  as  does  batik  work, 
which  involves  both  all-over  and  pattern  dyeing. 

The  mechanical  process  is  rather  simple  and  offers 
no  especial  difficulty,  requiring  only  the  painstaking 
care  that  good  teachers  exact  from  pupils. 

The  design  element  involved  may  be  simple  or 
elaborate,  fitted  to  the  capacity  of  the  pupil.  It  is  a 
real  problem  in  design,  however,  allowing  great  free- 
dom yet  carrying  with  it  the  discipline  of  a  later  test, 
viz.,  applied  expression  within  the  limitations  of  defi- 
nite mediums. 

As  the  process  controls  the  entire  surface,  the  pupil 
is  directed  to  plan  his  design  and  ground  areas  both 

Page  five 


in  space  and  color  relations.  The  mediums  used  are 
fabrics  and  dyes,  both  inseparably  involved  in  educa- 
tion as  they  are  in  life.  The  pupil  must  plan  for  the 
use  intended  and  also  for  the  particular  type  of  indi- 
vidual or  scheme  of  decoration. 

The  work  carries  with  it  all  along  the  anticipation 
of  results;  and  the  beautiful  finished  piece  is  the  re- 
ward of  effort.  What  more  could  be  desired  in  an 
applied  school  problem? 

The  endeavor  and  the  hope  in  presenting  this  little 
book  on  "Batik  and  Other  Pattern  Dyeing"  is  to  help 
those  who  are  learning  to  undertake  these  problems 
with  breadth  of  thought  and  efficiency  of  method. 

THE  AUTHORS. 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 


Page  six 


THE  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

r  I  ^HE  authors  are  pleased  to  express  grateful  in- 
-L   debtedness  to  a  number  of  friends  in  Indian- 
apolis. 

To  Miss  Roda  E.  Selleck,  Shortridge  High  School, 
for  her  advanced  high  school  projects  in  the  develop- 
ment and  application  of  batik  designs;  also  in  the 
application  of  tie-dyeing  and  blown  stenciling. 

To  Miss  Carolyn  S.  Ashbrook,  Shortridge  High 
School,  for  her  projects  with  an  elementary  high 
school  class. 

To  Miss  Olive  Rush,  who  designed  and  executed 
"The  Capture"  for  the  frontispiece. 

To  Miss  Blanche  Stillson  for  assistance  in  illus- 
trating the  wax  resist  processes;  also  for  her  designs, 
the  blouse,  page  80,  and  the  pattern,  page  87. 

To  Mr.  Charles  E.  Rush,  Librarian  of  the  Public 
Library,  for  securing  valuable  publications  of  the 
Dutch  Government. 

To  Mr.  George  Somnes,  Director  of  The  Little 
Theater,  and  Mrs.  Eugene  Fife,  Little  Theater,  for 
their  work  revealed  in  Chapter  V. 

For  the  loan  of  old  textiles,  Miss  Eliza  Niblack, 
Curator  of  Textiles,  John  Herron  Art  Institute,  the 

Page  seven 


sarong,  page  76,  and  the  chundri,  page  110;  Mrs. 
Clifton  A.  Wheeler,  the  Javanese  patterns,  page  95; 
Mrs.  William  O.  Bates,  the  sarong  design  used  for 
the  end  papers;  Miss  Florence  Fitch,  Director  of 
Art,  Public  Schools,  the  Indian  block  printing,  page 
126. 

For  permission  to  photograph  their  own  handi- 
craft, Miss  Mary  Overbeck  (Cambridge  City,  Ind.) 
the  tie-dyed  patterns,  pages  1 13  and  115;  Mrs.  James 
Thompson,  the  costume  jewelry,  page  78,  and  the 
tie-dyed  scarf,  page  115;  Mrs.  J.  R.  Brant,  the  blouse, 
page  82;  Miss  Mary  Janet  O'Reilly,  the  camisole, 
page  78. 


Page  eight 


Now  what  I  want  to  do  is  to  put  definitely 
before  you  a  cause  for  which  to  strive. 
That  cause  is  the  Democracy  of  Art,  the 
ennobling  of  daily  and  common  work, which 
will  one  day  put  hope  and  pleasure  in  the 
place  of  fear  and  pain  as  the  forces  which 
move  men  to  labor  and  keep  the  world  a-going. 

..... William  Morri* 


Page  nine 


"THE  CAPTURE,"  BY  OLIVE  RUSH 


Pagt  ten 


CHAPTER  I 


HISTORY  AND  CHARACTER  OF  BATIKS 


TEXTILE  art  is  one  of  the 
oldest  arts  known  to  man. 
Personal  adornment  was  per- 
haps the  first  attempt  at 
expressing  beauty.  Costume 
designing  and  textile  indus- 
tries are  still  most  vital 
movements  in  the  artistic 
development  of  the  people. 

Asia  is  the  great  mother  of 
beauty  in  textile  decoration. 
We  do  not  talk  or  write  about 
textiles  without  using  the 
words  of  her  ancient  peoples, 

"Batik" — this  ancient  Asiatic  word — is  one  of  the 
oldest  crafts  of  the  Orient.  In  India,  Java  and  Japan 
the  highest  technique  is  reached.  These  people  have 
made  a  great  art  of  costuming.  Each  caste,  religion 
and  festival  requires  its  special  garment. 

From  the  historic  days  when  Columbus  searched 
vainly  for  a  shorter  way  to  the  fabled  riches  of  the 
East  Indies  until  the  way  was  found,  these  treasure 
islands  held  the  possessions  most  coveted  by  the 
Western  World. 

More  than  a  thousand  years  before  this  time,  the 
neighboring  Hindus  came  to  these  rich  islands  bring- 

Page  eleven 


ing  with  them  religious  teachers,  road  makers  and 
skilled  craftsmen.  Many  expeditions  fastened  upon 
the  native  tribes  the  religion  and  culture  of  the  older 
and  more  civilized  country. 

While  the  Spanish,  Portuguese  and  English  adven- 
turers were  discovering  new  lands  and  claiming  them 
for  their  kings,  the  Dutch  sailors  carried  to  and  fro 
the  produce  of  the  world.  The  Netherland  ware- 
houses were  filled  with  treasures  of  the  Orient. 

Keeping  pace  with  its  industry  were  the  universi- 
ties and  the  common  schools.  The  records  and  draw- 
ings of  Dutch  scholars  disclose  so  much  detailed  in- 
formation upon  the  handicraft  industries  of  the  day 
that  the  recent  revival  of  batik  is  traced  to  their 
genius. 

Books  issued  by  the  Dutch  Government  to  promote 
the  batik  craft,  picture  Javanese  women  and  girls 
seated  upon  fibre  mats  before  a  vertical  frame  upon 
which  the  material  is  hung  for  the  execution  of  their 
art.  Men  too  are  at  work  printing  and  dyeing  these 
fabrics.  Housewives  in  staid  processionals  display 
the  occupation.  Princes  and  fine  ladies  disport  their 
gorgeous  costumes.  Priests  climbing  the  steps  of 
their  temples  past  the  long  rows  of  their  sacred  gods 
are  resplendent  in  batik  array.  Their  oldest  gods  are 
clothed  in  sculptured  batik. 

Designs  of  great  beauty  and  skilled  execution  en- 
rich the  pages  of  these  rare  volumes. 

Among  the  Dutch  people  much  effort  has  been 
made  to  promote  this  art.  Native  designs  have  been 
fostered  and  the  modifications  have  been  in  demand 
for  European  trade. 

Page  twelve 


COSTUME   OF    AN    UPPER    CLASS    JAVANESE    WOMAN 


Page  thirteen 


The  American  adaptation  of  batik  has  followed 
closely  upon  the  European  revival. 

The  Chinese,  however,  have  control  of  the  industry 
in  Java.  They  employ  natives  at  low  wage  to  make 
batiks.  The  home  occupation  that  took  no  account 
of  time  or  pains  is  dying  out.  In  a  few  years  the 
products  of  this  infinitely  better  craft  will  be  found 
only  in  museums  and  in  the  possession  of  collectors. 
Under  Chinese  management  batik  making  has  be- 
come the  leading  occupation. 

Batik  is  a  method  of  drawing  or  painting  with  wax 
upon  a  fabric,  after  which  the  material  is  dyed  and 
the  wax  removed.  The  result  of  this  process  is  a 
decoration  in  silhouette  upon  the  dyed  background 
of  the  goods. 

The  wax  generally  used  in  Java  is  hot  beeswax  or 
a  vegetable  wax  imported  from  Japan.  The  wax  is 
removed  by  scraping  and  melting.  The  waxing  is 
repeated  as  many  times  as  there  are  colors  in  the  de- 
sign. The  process  is  long  and  tedious  and  often  re- 
quires months. 

Formerly  the  colors  were  native  vegetable  dyes. 
The  most  common  were  indigo,  mango  tree  bark  and 
madder.  These  colors  have  fallen  into  disuse,  arti- 
ficial dyes  having  replaced  them. 

The  wax  resists  the  action  of  the  dye-bath  except 
where  it  cracks.  Here  the  dye  creeps  in,  producing 
the  characteristic  "crackle"  of  batik  work.  The 
Oriental  craftsman  never  forces  crackle.  With  him 
it  is  always  an  incident,  the  subtle  accident  of  his 
handicraft. 

The  nature  of  the  process  forces  simple  execution 
in  waxing  the  shapes  and  outlines,  and  also  limits  the 

Page  fourteen 


JAVANESE  WOMAN   ENGAGED   IN   BATIK  DECORATION 


Page  fifteen 


number  of  times  the  piece  may  be  dyed.  Applying 
the  wax  becomes  increasingly  difficult  after  each  dip- 
ping. Spotting  of  color  over  the  entire  piece  makes 
thinking  in  color  as  important  as  the  painting  in  of 
the  wax. 

The  Oriental  process  of  dyeing  is  the  reverse  of  the 
American,  in  that  it  applies  the  darkest  colors  first. 
This  necessitates  previous  waxing  over  parts  to  be 
kept  light  and  also  the  removal  of  the  wax  and  an 
entire  new  waxing  after  each  dyeing.  The  American 
method  is  to  dye  the  lightest  colors  first  and  build  up 
the  deeper  colors.  Between  dyeings  the  old  waxing 
is  repaired  and  additional  areas  waxed. 

The  "sarong,"  worn  by  Javanese  natives,  is  a  skirt- 
like  piece  of  goods  about  the  size  and  proportion  of 
a  window  curtain.  This  garment  falls  from  the 
waist,  or  above  it,  to  the  feet.  The  fabric  is  cheap 
cotton  manufactured  in  Holland  or  England.  The 
color  and  decoration  of  the  sarong  is  influenced  by 
caste  and  religion.  The  feudal  framework  of  Jav- 
anese society  has  given  much  significance  to  rank. 

The  women  add  to  the  sarong  a  "kemban."  This 
garment  is  not  unlike  a  blouse  without  shoulder  sup- 
ports or  sleeves.  The  kemban  is  wound  tightly  about 
the  body  under  the  arms.  The  drapery  covers  the 
upper  part  of  the  sarong. 

The  "slendang"  completes  the  wearing  apparel  of 
the  women.  It  is  a  scarf  worn  for  adornment  or  use- 
ful for  carrying  the  youngest  child,  or  other  burdens. 

The  Javanese  man  wears  the  sarong  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  women,  which  leads  the  foreigner  to 
awkward  misunderstandings.  His  long  hair  is  done 
on  the  top  of  his  head  and  bound  around  with  a 

Page  sixteen 


JAVANESE  NATIVES  DYEING  BATIKS 


Page  seventeen 


. 


"sarong  kapala."  This  head  dress  is  tied  at  the  nape 
of  the  neck.  The  sarong  kapala  is  square,  and  when 
fitted  is  starched  and  shaped  to  the  head. 

Among  the  poorer  classes  these  garments  are  plain, 
usually  dark  blue,  for  daily  wear,  but  on  occasions 
they  are  vivid  with  color  decorations. 

The  native  worker  prepares  his  cotton  goods  by 
soaking  in  oil,  afterwards  in  lye.  This  process  is  re- 
peated until  the  material  is  softened  and  a  pleasing 
yellow  gray. 

Hand  decoration  is  done  by  women.  The  material 
is  hung  over  an  upright  frame.  The  hand  supports 
the  goods,  and  the  molten  wax  is  applied  to  the  de- 
sign. They  use  a  funnel-like  cup  with  a  bamboo 
handle.  The  wax  trickles  slowly  through  the  slender 
tube,  and  with  this  the  outline  is  made.  This  instru- 
ment is  called  a  "tjanting."  There  is  no  right  or 
wrong  side  of  this  fabric,  as  the  waxing  is  done  on 
both  sides.  To  cover  large  surfaces  with  wax,  they 
use  a  brush.  These  women  have  acquired  a  high  de- 
gree of  skill  through  repetition  of  the  same  design 
on  the  same  kind  of  garment. 

The  wooden  frame  over  which  the  goods  are  fas- 
tened is  moveable.  The  wax  is  melted  over  an 
earthen  heater  with  an  open  side,  into  which  the  ends 
of  long  sticks  are  thrust  for  burning. 

Although  the  tjanting  is  the  more  desired  and 
versatile  device  for  applying  wax,  the  men  wax  batiks 
with  "tjaps."  The  tjap  is  a  wooden  block  with  de- 
signs of  metal  insert.  The  craftsman  sits  on  a  low 
stool  in  front  of  an  inclined  table  over  which  the 
goods  are  smoothly  spread.  The  bottom  of  a  shallow 
pan  is  covered  with  wax,  heated  in  the  same  manner 

Page  eighteen 


JAVANESE   MAN  DECORATING  A  SARONG  WITH   A  TJAP 


Page  nineteen 


o 


JAVANESE  BATIK  TOOLS 


as  for  the  tjanting.  An  absorbent  pad  is  placed  in 
the  pan,  the  tjap  is  pressed  on  the  pad  and  imprinted 
on  the  fabric.  The  fabric  is  then  turned  and,  with 
another  tjap  made  like  the  first  except  with  its  sym- 
metry reversed,  wax  imprints  are  made  in  exactly 
the  same  places.  This  insures  good  waxing  on  both 
sides  of  the  fabric.  The  piece  is  then  ready  for  the 
dye. 

Sometimes  a  set  of  many  tjaps  is  used  to  work  out 
a  pattern  for  a  sarong  or  other  garment.  The  making 
of  these  tjaps  is  the  laborious  and  expensive  work  of 
experts.  Of  course  we  may  expect  to  find  many 
repetitions  of  such  patterns,  differing  from  one  an- 
other only  in  the  accidents  of  dyeing. 

Frequently  different  methods  of  applying  wax  are 
used  in  the  same  decoration.  Freehand  work  with 
the  tjanting  and  brush  on  fine  pieces  serve  to  take 
away  from  the  mechanical  reproduction  of  tjap  de- 
signs. The  decoration  of  the  end  papers  of  this  book, 
taken  from  a  fine  old  sarong,  affords  an  interesting 
study. 

Page  twenty 


The  most  artistic  and  highly  regarded  effects  in 
batiks  among  the  Japanese  workers  are  executed  as 
they  are  in  America  today,  i.e.,  the  wax  is  applied 
with  a  brush  and  is  as  free  from  mechanical  aids  as 
painting. 

Pieter  Mijer,  in  "Batiks  and  How  to  Make  Them," 
published  by  Dodd  Mead  &  Company,  New  York, 
writes  of  the  modern  development  of  batiks  in  Hol- 
land. The  artists  who  have  stimulated  the  present 
interest  are  Cris  Lebeau,  Dijesselhof  and  Lion 
Cachet.  The  illustrations  of  their  work  have  a  charm 
and  individuality  worthy  of  the  highest  respect.  The 
author's  own  piece  shown  in  the  same  group  does  not 
lose  by  comparison. 

This  book  is  also  rich  in  valuable  instruction  and 
other  illustrations  of  batiks,  showing  high  American 
standards  of  the  craft. 

Batik  adaptation  in  America  is  without  tradition, 
and  is  an  outgrowth  of  youth  and  enthusiasm  caught 
up  and  carried  on  the  high  tide  of  progress  and  op- 
portunity. The  real  significance  of  its  popularity 
reaches  backward  into  the  necessity  that  confronted 
workers  in  textile  designing  after  Europe  was  caught 
in  the  maelstrom  of  war. 

The  textile  manufacturer  has  quickly  adapted  batik 
designs,  indeed  the  artist  working  in  batiks  feels  a 
close  kinship  to  textile  industry. 

Batik  decoration  is  free  from  limitations  that  re- 
strict mechanical  printing.  In  designing  fabrics  for 
the  ordinary  methods  of  mechanical  reproduction, 
where  great  yardage  is  produced,  the  designer  con- 
sults an  average  taste;  whereas  in  batiks  each  piece  is 
definitely  designed  with  a  particular  setting  or  indi- 

Page  twenty-one 


vidual  in  view.  There  is  no  necessity  for  much 
repetition  of  any  design,  nor  indeed  can  exact  copy 
ever  be  made. 

The  first  enthusiasm  of  the  worker  in  batiks  is  apt 
to  find  expression  in  a  burst  of  color  run  riot,  of 
"crackle  craze,"  with  too  little  attention  paid  to  de- 
sign. But  this  soon  gives  way,  as  it  should,  to  more 
conservative  expression  in  which  design  is  the  con- 
trolling element,  and  the  art  comes  to  its  own  as  a 
method  of  subtle  and  beautiful  illumination  of 
textiles. 


Page  twenty-two 


OLD  BATIK  DESIGN 


Page  twenty-three 


OLD   BATIK  DESIGN 


Page  twenty-four 


OLD    BATIK    DESIGN 


twenty-five 


OLD   BATIK  DESIGN 


Page  twenty-six 


OLD    BATIK    DESIGNS 


Page  twenty-seven 


ri 


OLD   BATIK  DESIGNS 


Page  twenty- eight 


OLD  BATIK  DESIGNS 


Page  twenty-nine 


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OLD  BATIK  DESIGNS 


Page  thirty 


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Page  thirty-one 


OLD  BATIK  DESIGNS 


thirty-two 


* 


OLD   BATIK  DESIGNS 


Page  thirty-three 


OLD  BATIK  DESIGNS 


Page  t/iirty-fonr 


CHAPTER  II 


ALL-OVER  DYEING 

r  I  ^HE  simplest  process  of 
JL  dyeing  a  fabric  consists 
in  submerging  it  in  a  solution 
of  dye,  known  as  a  "dye-bath," 
and  allowing  it  to  extract  or 
exhaust  the  color  from  the 
bath.  It  is  necessary  that 
there  be  an  attraction  or  af- 
finity between  the  fiber  of  the 
fabric  and  the  dye  in  solution. 
All  parts  of  the  fabric  must  be 
given  equal  opportunity  to  ex- 
tract the  dye  in  order  that  a 
uniform  color  or  "level"  dye- 
ing be  obtained. 

To  accomplish  this  end  experience  has  found  that 
a  few  simple  things  must  be  observed.  These  have 
to  do  with,  ( 1 )  the  preparation  of  the  fabric  for  dye- 
ing, (2)  the  making  of  the  dye-bath,  (3)  the  handling 
of  the  fabric  while  in  the  dye-bath,  and  (4)  the 
handling  of  the  fabric  after  the  dyeing. 

1.  The  Preparation  of  the  Fabric.  The  fabric 
must  be  clean.  A  spot  of  grease  or  other  soil  allows 
that  part  of  the  fabric  less  opportunity  to  extract 

Page  thirty-five 


color  from  the  dye-bath,  with  the  result  that  the  dye- 
ing is  not  level.  Thorough  washing  with  soap  and 
warm  water  followed  by  a  good  rinsing  will  remove 
most  spots.  The  methods  of  the  dry  cleaner  will  be 
necessary  for  others. 

All  sizing  must  be  removed.  Sizing  consists  of 
substances  such  as  clay,  flour,  starch,  gum,  oil,  tallow, 
soap,  etc.,  put  into  the  fiber,  either  before  or  after 
weaving,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  weight,  body, 
strength,  stiffness,  softness,  finish,  or  other  desired 
quality.  Some  sizing  prevents  the  extraction  of  color 
from  the  dye-bath.  In  other  cases  the  sizing  itself 
absorbs  a  large  share  of  the  color,  and  later  when  the 
sizing  is  removed  by  washing  this  color  goes  with  it. 
Vigorous  washing  with  soap  and  hot  water,  followed 
by  rinsing,  will  remove  most  sizing.  A  fabric  which 
suffers  injury  by  the  removal  of  its  sizing  is  not  suit- 
able for  dyeing. 

Previously  dyed  fabrics  are  often  uneven  in  color 
due  to  spotting  and  fading.  Level  dyeing  cannot  be 
done  over  such  color.  The  practice  of  the  profes- 
sional dyer  is  to  remove  or  level  this  color  before  at- 
tempting further  dyeing.  This  often  calls  for  skill 
beyond  that  of  the  inexperienced  worker.  Some- 
times prolonged  boiling  in  strong  soap  suds  will  ac- 
complish this.  Many  colors  will  also  yield  to  hot 
hydrosulphite  solution  followed  by  a  good  rinsing. 

Of  course  where  goods  have  been  previously 
colored  there  are  limitations  as  to  the  colors  that  may 
be  obtained  by  additional  dyeing.  For  example,  blue 
goods  cannot,  without  the  removal  of  the  blue  color, 
be  dyed  yellow  but  may  be  dyed  green  or  purple  or 
a  deeper  blue.  Yellow  goods  cannot  be  dyed  pink, 

Page  thirty-six 


but  may  be  dyed  orange,  green,  brown  or  black.  This 
will  be  discussed  more  fully  later. 

Some  fibers  are  hard  and  harsh  and  resistant,  like 
crash  and  most  new  cotton  cloth.  This  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  gums,  resins,  waxes  and  other  impurities, 
substances  which  either  attract  dyes  or  else  prevent 
their  taking  the  fiber.  It  is  not  possible  to  dye  such 
goods  successfully  without  first  rendering  the  fibers 
soft  and  absorbent.  This  may  be  accomplished  by 
prolonged  boiling  in  washing  soda.  Repeated  wash- 
ing and  exposure  to  air  will  also  do  it,  hence  old 
cotton  usually  dyes  well.  Technically  there  are  elab- 
orate and  carefully  carried  out  chemical  processes  of 
preparing  cotton  cloth  for  dyeing,  and  entire  mills 
are  busy  doing  this  one  thing. 

The  Javanese  and  other  Oriental  peoples  purchase 
cotton  cloth  from  Europe  and  treat  it  for  many  days, 
alternately  soaking  in  oil  and  boiling  in  lye  from 
ashes,  then  exposing  to  the  hot  sun.  This  process  is 
repeated  until  the  cloth  is  soft  and  absorbent  and  suit- 
able to  receive  color  decoration. 

The  cloth  should  always  be  thoroughly  wet  before 
putting  it  into  the  dye-bath.  This  should  be  done  in 
water  of  the  same  temperature  as  the  dye-bath. 

It  may  be  briefly  mentioned  here  that  a  fabric  must 
sometimes  be  given  a  treatment  with  some  chemical, 
called  a  mordant,  before  it  will  exhaust  certain  dyes 
from  the  bath  and  be  properly  dyed. 

2.  The  Making  of  the  Dye-Bath.  For  simple 
dyeing,  as  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter, 
we  must  observe  the  following  things : 

The  dye-bath  must  be  sufficient  in  quantity  to  cover 

Page  thirty-seven 


the  goods  well  and  to  permit  of  their  being  worked 
thoroughly  during  the  process  of  dyeing. 

For  the  "dye-vat,"  or  container  for  the  dye-bath, 
use  preferably  a  large  graniteware  pan  or  stone  jar. 
Metal  dishes,  especially  iron,  are  sometimes  injuri- 
ous. Professional  dyers  often  use  vats  of  copper, 
brass  or  wood. 

Soft  water  is  preferable,  and  it  should  be  free  of 
sediment.  The  presence  of  iron  in  water  is  most  in- 
jurious as  it  dulls,  or  "saddens,"  the  shade  of  most 
colors.  A  hard  water  containing  lime  should  be  puri- 
fied or  softened.  Lime  sometimes  causes  uneven 
dyeing. 

The  dye  must  be  completely  dissolved  in  the  water. 
If  specks  of  undissolved  dye  are  present  there  will 
be  a  spotted  uneven  dyeing.  It  is  best  to  dissolve  the 
dye  in  a  small  amount  of  water  in  a  separate  dish  and 
then  strain  it.  This  should  be  added  to  the  dye-bath 
a  portion  at  a  time  during  the  dyeing.  The  reason 
for  this  will  appear  later. 

The  temperature  of  the  dye-bath  has  much  to  do 
with  the  dyeing.  There  is  no  general  rule  applicable 
to  all  dyes.  Each  dye  is  usually  accompanied  by 
directions  as  to  the  temperature  to  be  used.  In  gen- 
eral it  may  be  said  that  all  dyes  work  better  in  warm 
or  hot  solution.  Some  dyes  require  prolonged  boil- 
ing; in  other  cases  boiling  is  positively  injurious  to 
the  dye.  Sometimes  a  definite  temperature  below 
the  boiling  point  must  be  maintained.  Sometimes 
the  temperature  is  raised  or  lowered  during  the  dye- 
ing. In  all  cases  the  temperature  should  be  kept  the 
same  in  the  different  parts  of  the  bath,  otherwise  the 
dyeing  will  be  uneven. 

Page  thirty-eight 


Many  dyes,  while  most  successful  at  high  tempera- 
ture, work  very  well  in  moderately  warm,  or  even 
cold  solution.  This  is  of  very  great  advantage  in 
pattern  dyeing,  as  in  batik  work,  where  the  wax  for- 
bids a  high  temperature. 

The  composition  of  the  dye-bath  is  not  often  as 
simple  as  we  have  indicated.  Usually  the  dyer  adds 
one  or  more  other  chemicals  to  assist  in  dissolving  the 
dye,  to  control  the  rate  of  absorption  of  the  dye  by 
the  fabric,  or  for  some  other  purpose. 

Some  of  the  finest  dyeing  is  done  in  baths  so  com- 
plex and  with  operations  so  exacting  in  care  that  only 
the  trained  professional  with  his  elaborate  equipment 
is  able  to  undertake  it. 

3.  The  Handling  of  the  Fabric  in  the  Dye-Bath. 
Since  all  parts  of  the  fabric  must  have  equal  oppor- 
tunity to  be  dyed,  in  order  that  a  level  dyeing  be 
obtained,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  goods  be 
worked  as  long  as  they  remain  in  the  dye-bath.  This 
working  must  be  thorough  and  continuous  without 
interruption.  This  cannot  be  emphasized  too  much. 

Let  us  think  what  happens  if  this  rule  is  not  heeded 
and  the  goods  stand  a  few  minutes  in  the  bath.  Some 
parts  of  the  fabric  will  lie  inside  the  folds  of  other 
parts  and,  having  access  to  only  a  small  part  of  the 
dye-bath,  will  soon  exhaust  all  of  the  dye  available, 
a  condition  known  as  "local  exhaustion."  Mean- 
while other  parts  of  the  fabric  more  favorably  situ- 
ated will  continue  to  absorb  dye.  More  uneven  dye- 
ing in  schools  and  homes  is  due  perhaps  to  this  cause 
than  to  any  other.  • 

Constant  working  of  the  goods  keeps  the  dye  that 
yet  remains  in  solution  uniformly  distributed  in  the 

Page  thirty -nine 


bath  so  that  all  parts  of  the  fabric  are  absorbing  dye 
alike.  It  also  maintains  what  is  equally  essential  to 
level  dyeing,  a  uniform  temperature  in  all  parts  of 
the  bath. 

It  is  to  minimize  the  danger  of  uneven  dyeing  due 
to  this  local  exhaustion  that  the  dye-bath  must  be 
made  of  sufficient  volume  to  cover  the  goods  well. 
The  goods  must  be  moved  about  in  the  bath  with  the 
greatest  freedom. 

It  is  for  the  same  reason,  especially  when  the  af- 
finity between  fiber  and  color  is  very  great,  that  the 
dye  is  added  a  small  portion  at  a  time.  The  goods 
after  being  treated  with  part  of  the  dye  are  lifted  out 
of  the  bath,  a  new  portion  of  dye  quickly  added  and 
stirred,  and  the  dyeing  operation  renewed.  This  is 
repeated  until  the  desired  shade  is  obtained. 

The  beginner  is  apt  to  think  that  to  get  a  full  color 
requires  a  concentrated  dye-bath.  Experience  will 
teach  him  that,  when  the  dyes  are  properly  chosen 
for  his  fabric,  a  full  color  is  obtained  better  by  a 
longer  treatment  in  a  dilute  bath,  with  additions  of 
dye  as  mentioned  above.  In  this  way  nearly  if  not 
all  of  the  color  put  into  the  bath  is  absorbed  by  the 
cloth.  This  serves  for  economy  of  color,  makes  ob- 
servation and  control  of  the  process  easier,  simplifies 
the  problem  of  rinsing,  and  improves  the  quality  of 
the  dyeing.  It  is  the  only  way  dyeing  to  shade  can 
be  accomplished. 

A  slow  dyeing  is  generally  more  level  and  success- 
ful in  every  way.  In  cases  where  the  fiber  absorbs 
the  color  greedily  the  dyer  sometimes  puts  other  in- 
gredients called  "assistants"  into  the  bath  to  retard 
this  absorption. 

Page  forty 


Frequently  the  craftsman  does  shaded  dyeing,  such 
as  a  scarf  with  deep  blue  ends  grading  to  a  light  blue 
center.  The  following  directions  will  accomplish 
this:  Hold  the  scarf  in  the  middle  with  one  hand, 
dip  the  ends  into  the  dye-bath  and  work  them  thor- 
oughly with  the  other  hand.  Then  lower  the  scarf 
into  the  bath  very  gradually  without  interrupting  the 
working.  If  a  half  hour  is  taken  to  lower  the  scarf 
the  ends  will  be  in  the  bath  perhaps  thirty-five  min- 
utes, the  center  five  minutes,  and  besides,  before  the 
center  is  dyed  most  of  the  color  will  have  been  ex- 
hausted from  the  bath. 

4.  The  Handling  of  the  Fabric  After  the  Dyeing. 
The  usual  procedure  after  dyeing  is  a  thorough 
rinsing  to  remove  all  surplus  dye  and  chemicals.  The 
importance  of  this  will  be  appreciated  from  the  fol- 
lowing considerations : 

If  not  removed  many  chemicals  which  have  been 
used  as  assistants,  becoming  more  concentrated  as  the 
goods  dry,  act  injuriously  on  the  dye  or  the  fiber. 
Likewise  any  unused  color  will  continue  to  dye  the 
goods  and  of  course  unevenly.  It  is  clearly  essential 
that  the  rinsing  be  done  immediately  upon  removal 
of  the  goods  from  the  bath.  The  directions  some- 
times call  for  washing  in  soap  and  water  after  dyeing. 

The  excess  of  rinse  water  should  be  removed  and 
the  goods  dried  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Usually  there 
is  no  objection  to  wringing.  A  fabric  should  never 
be  allowed  to  hang  and  drain  dry,  as  the  dyeing  is 
liable  to  become  uneven  in  streaks,  especially  when 
the  dye  used  is  one  given  to  run  or  "bleed,"  or  in  any 
case  where  the  rinsing  has  not  been  absolutely 
thorough.  The  craftsman  in  dyeing  a  small  piece 

Page  forty-one 


frequently  puts  it  between  towels  or  newspapers  to 
absorb  the  excess  water  and  then  shakes  it  until  dry. 
This  is  to  be  commended.  The  technical  dyer  has 
suitable  machinery  to  accomplish  this  work. 

To  dry  a  batik  piece,  where  the  wax  forbids  wring- 
ing or  rough  handling  in  any  way,  spread  the  piece 
carefully  on  towels  or  newspapers,  cover  with  more 
towels  or  papers  to  remove  the  excess  water,  then 
shake  very  gently  until  dry,  or  hang  on  a  waxed  line. 

At  no  time  during  the  process  of  dyeing  should 
the  goods  be  allowed  to  remain  in  contact  with  other 
absorbent  surfaces,  such  as  boards,  paper,  cloth, 
clothes-line,  grass,  etc.  These  are  apt  to  absorb  color 
away  from  the  goods  and  leave  faded  streaks  or  spots. 
A  clothes-line  used  for  this  purpose  should  be  waxed 
to  make  it  non-absorbent. 

PATTERN  DYEING 

The  preceding  general  principles  have  been  out- 
lined with  all-over  dyeing  especially  in  mind.  We 
now  come  to  the  consideration  of  pattern  dyeing, 
where  in  order  to  produce  a  design  it  is  necessary  to 
dye  chosen  parts  of  the  fabric  and  keep  the  dye  away 
from  other  parts.  All  that  has  been  said  with  ref- 
erence to  making  all-over  dyeing  efficient  applies 
equally  well  to  pattern  dyeing.  If  possible,  every- 
thing that  is  done  to  make  all-over  dyeing  successful 
should  be  done  in  pattern  dyeing  to  obtain  a  corre- 
sponding success. 

Practically,  however,  we  find  it  impossible  to  carry 
out  some  of  the  steps.  For  example,  in  the  usual 
block  printing,  we  do  not  have  the  problem  of  han- 
dling the  fabric  in  a  dye-bath,  but  rather  that  of 

Page  forty-two 


handling  dye  on  the  fabric.  Here  we  must  take  spe- 
cial steps  to  get  the  dye  well  into  the  fiber  and  secure 
the  results  obtained  from  the  large  dye-bath  in  all- 
over  dyeing. 

The  fabric  must  be  prepared  for  pattern  dyeing  in 
the  same  manner  as  for  all-over  dyeing.  It  is  just 
as  essential  that  it  be  clean,  free  of  sizing,  with  its 
fibers  soft  and  absorbent.  Attention  has  been  called 
to  the  pains  taken  by  the  Orientals  in  the  preparation 
of  their  fabrics  for  decoration.  We  must  not  jeopar- 
dize our  success  by  omitting  to  boil  out  new  raw 
material  and  to  clean  old  material. 

This  washing  before  dyeing  also  brings  about  any 
shrinkage  that  is  to  occur,  and  of  course  this  must  be 
done  before  the  design  is  traced  on  the  cloth,  other- 
wise one  could  not  intelligently  work  to  dimensions. 

A  dyed  pattern  may  be  produced  in  several  ways : 

1.  The  dye  is  applied  to  the  desired  parts  of  the 
fabric  and  means  taken  to  set  it  there  without  it 
spreading  to  other  parts.  This  is  known  as  direct 
coloring.  Block  printing  and  stenciling,  as  ordi- 
narily done,  are  examples.  Calico  printing  is  an 
industrial  application  of  the  method. 

"  2.  A  resist  of  some  kind  is  applied  to  parts  of  the 
fabric  to  prevent  their  taking  the  dye,  after  which 
the  fabric  is  treated  in  a  dye-bath.  Batik  decoration 
and  tie-dyed  work  both  fall  in  this  class.  Stencils 
and  print  blocks  may  also  be  used  in  the  applica- 
tion of  the  resist. 

3.  A  "discharge"  is  put  on  parts  of  previously 
dyed  goods,  which  either  removes  the  color  where  it 
touches,  or  else  alters  the  shade.  Different  discharges 
are  used  according  to  the  nature  of  the  dye  and  the 

Page  forty-three 


goods.  Some  chemicals  used  as  discharges  are  liable, 
unless  skillfully  handled,  to  attack  and  tender  the 
cloth.  The  method  belongs  rather  to  the  industrial 
world  where  abundant  apparatus  and  trained  dyeing 
chemists  are  available.  It  is  not,  however,  beyond 
the  skill  of  a  good  craftsman  who  has  acquired  some 
experience  with  dyes. 

The  dye  for  direct  coloring  is  applied  in  liquid 
form,  sometimes  thickened  into  a  paste  by  use  of 
gums,  starch,  etc.  Often  mordants  or  other  assisting 
chemicals  are  incorporated  into  the  mixture.  In 
block  printing  this  color  mixture  is  brushed  on  the 
block,  which  is  then  imprinted  on  the  fabric  in  the 
desired  place,  and  the  color  driven  into  the  fiber 
with  pressure  or  a  sharp  blow.  Stenciling  is  done  by 
brushing  the  color  mixture  through  the  open  parts  of 
the  stencil,  or  by  blown  stenciling  in  which  a  volatile 
color  mixture  is  sprayed  with  an  atomizer. 

The  best  method  of  setting  the  dyes  in  this  direct 
coloring  is  that  pursued  commercially  in  calico  print- 
ing, treatment  with  dry  steam,  i.  e.,  steam  applied 
at  a  temperature  sufficiently  high  to  prevent  its  con- 
densation into  drops  of  hot  water  on  the  fabric,  which 
would  be  quite  ruinous  to  the  design.  This  is  done 
successfully  by  Oriental  craftsmen,  and  it  would  be 
very  desirable  to  have  suitable  apparatus  in  American 
schools  and  studios. 

Next  best,  though  considerably  less  efficient,  is 
the  commonly  practised  method  of  laying  the  fabric 
between  dampened  cloths  and  pressing  with  a  hot 
iron  until  dry. 

The  resist  method  has  an  advantage  in  that  it 
allows  the  use  of  a  dye-bath.  The  limitation  of 

Page  forty-four 


temperatures  that  may  be  used  places  some  restric- 
tion on  the  choice  of  dyes.  Batik  dyeing  must  be 
done  without  melting  the  wax  resist.  But  after 
eliminating  those  dyes  which  require  high  temper- 
atures and  also  those  not  suitable  for  pattern  dyeing, 
there  still  remains  a  good  range  of  colors.  Batik 
is  without  doubt  the  most  versatile  of  all  methods 
of  pattern  dyeing. 

Tie-dyed  work  depends  upon  tightly  wound  string 
or  yarn  to  resist  the  dye.  It  also  has  the  advantage 
of  the  dye-bath.  Though  less  versatile  than  batik, 
it  has  a  time-honored  place  as  a  method  of  beautiful 
and  charming  results.  The  introduction  of  sticks  over 
which  the  tying  is  done,  such  sticks  as  are  used  by 
the  children  in  stick  printing,  has  opened  new  prob- 
lems with  added  variety  and  much  interest. 

DYES 

The  colors  available  for  craft  work  are  commonly 
grouped  into  the  following  classes,  which  will  be 
briefly  described: 

Direct  Colors.  These  are  so  called  because  they 
are  applied  to  all  fibers  directly  without  the  use  of 
mordants.  They  are  principally  used  for  dyeing 
cotton.  Some  dyes  of  this  class  have  affinity  for 
both  cotton  and  wool.  Most  of  the  package  dyes 
sold  at  the  local  stores  are  of  this  class.  They  are 
applied  to  cotton  in  a  boiling  bath  and  to  wool  at 
high  temperature  near  the  boiling  point.  Different 
assistants  are  used  varying  with  the  dye  and  the 
nature  of  the  fabric. 

The  direct  colors,  being  very  soluble,  are  prone 
to  '%leed"  when  the  goods  are  washed,  but  owing 
to  this  same  fact  it  is  easy  to  produce  level  dyeing 

Page  forty -five 


on  the  goods.  On  this  same  account,  however,  and 
also  on  account  of  the  high  temperature  required, 
they  are  not  well  suited  for  pattern  dyeing. 

Acid  Colors.  These  have  great  commercial  value 
for  dyeing  wool  and  sometimes  silk.  The  best  of 
them  are  quite  fast  to  light  but  not  to  washing.  They 
are  not  suitable  for  cotton  or  linen. 

Basic  Colors.  These  will  dye  wool  and  silk  di- 
rectly and  also  raffia,  straw,  basketry  material,  leather 
and  wood.  They  dye  cotton  when  mordanted  with 
tannic  acid,  and  this  constitutes  a  very  large  com- 
mercial use.  Basic  dyes  are  especially  strong  in 
coloring  power.  Many  of  them  are  fugitive  to  light. 
A  few  of  the  best  of  them,  however,  when  properly 
applied,  are  fast  to  washing  and  fairly  fast  to  light. 

Sulphur  Colors.  These  are  used  extensively  on 
cotton,  giving  colors  fast  to  washing  and  to  light. 
The  dyeing  is  done  at  high  temperature  in  a  strongly 
alkaline  bath  of  sodium  sulphide  along  with  other 
assistants.  The  colors  are  all  dull  and  the  range  of 
colors  is  not  complete,  there  being  a  lack  of  reds. 
These  dyes  are  not  suitable  for  silks. 

Vat  Colors  are  so  called  because  the  method  of 
dyeing  is  that  of  the  indigo  vat.  Indigo  has  been 
known  for  a  long  time,  but  only  in  recent  years  have 
other  dyes  of  this  class  been  produced,  until  now  the 
series  includes  the  entire  range  of  colors.  As  a  class 
they  are  the  fastest  colors  ever  known.  The  best 
of  them  are  so  fast  that  the  cloth  will  wear  out  with- 
out the  color  changing.  They  are  used  chiefly  on 
cotton  and  linen,  sometimes  on  silk. 

Vat  dyes  have  been  very  expensive  and  scarcely 
obtainable  during  the  war.  Their  future  is  of  great 

Page  forty-six 


interest  and  importance  both  in  the  industries  and 
to  craft  workers. 

In  addition  to  the  dyes  above  mentioned  there  are 
many  others  the  use  of  which  is  quite  complicated 
and  technical  and  therefore  confined  to  the  industries. 

For  a  fuller  discussion  of  dyes  and  their  uses  the 
reader  is  referred  to  Pellew's  "Dyes  and  Dyeing" 
(Robert  McBride  &  Co.,  New  York).  This  is  a 
most  excellent  book  written  for  craftsmen.  Like 
most  of  our  literature,  the  treatment  of  dyes  is  based 
upon  pre-war  conditions,  when  nearly  all  of  our 
colors  were  imported.  The  latest  edition,  however, 
contains  an  added  chapter  dealing  with  the  present 
transitional  state,  incident  to  the  transfer  of  the  in- 
dustry to  this  side  of  the  water  and  the  development 
of  great  American  color  houses. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  leading  firms  carrying 
school  art  supplies  offer  dyes  in  suitable  form  espe- 
cially adapted  for  the  problems  in  pattern  dyeing. 

Perhaps  a  few  suggestions  to  the  less  experienced 
of  our  readers  will  prove  helpful.  All  of  the  good 
dyes  manufactured  today  are  in  a  very  pure  form. 
The  use  of  one  dye  alone  often  gives  results  that  are 
crude  without  any  subtle  beauty.  It  is  frequently 
necessary  to  apply  the  principle  well  known  to  all 
workers  in  color,  that  colors  are  softened  and  beauti- 
fied by  small  admixtures  of  their  compliments;  that 
one  color  that  is  cold,  or  another  that  is  hot,  becomes 
warmed  or  toned  by  a  suitable  admixture  of  other 
colors. 

It  may  be  stated  that  most  of  the  beautiful  dyeing 
is  built  up  from  two  or  more  colors.  This  is  accom- 
plished, according  to  the  nature  of  the  dyes  and  the 

Page  forty-seven 


fabric,  by  mixing  the  colors  in  the  same  dye-bath, 
or  by  dyeing  the  cloth  successively  in  different  colors. 
Of  course  the  previous  condition  of  the  fabric  must 
be  taken  into  account.  A  bleached  cotton  cloth  must 
be  treated  differently  from  a  grayed  one  if  an  equally 
soft  effect  is  desired. 

In  the  old  days  dyes  contained  impurities  which 
often  caused  beautiful  grayed  effects.  But  it  is  in- 
excusable today  for  anyone  with  knowledge  of  the 
above  principle  and  with  elementary  knowledge  of 
dyes  and  dye-baths  not  to  get  equally  good  results. 

The  inartistic  work  that  we  see  so  prevalent  today 
in  the  realm  of  dyed  fabrics  is  due  in  part  to  igno- 
rance and  lack  of  appreciation  of  good  color  and  in 
part  to  the  commercial  race  for  profit.  As  the  taste 
of  the  people  makes  demand  for  better  things  the 
response  of  industry  will  not  be  wanting. 

Nor  need  the  craftsman  of  today  spend  idle  time 
mourning  the  disappearance  of  vegetable  colors  and 
his  necessity  for  using  coal  tar  dyes.  We  must  re- 
member that  only  the  best  of  the  vegetable  dyeing 
has  come  down  to  us.  The  proportion  of  poor  work 
with  vegetable  dyes  has  always  been  as  large  or  even 
larger  than  with  the  present-day  colors.  We  are  too 
prone  to  compare  the  ordinary  home  dyeing  of  today 
or  the  cheaper  commercial  dyeing  with  the  good 
pieces  that  have  been  preserved  from  the  past.  When 
in  justice  the  comparison  is  made  of  the  best  with 
the  best,  the  coal  tar  dyes  not  only  do  not  suffer  but 
they  really  gain. 

The  coal  tar  dyes  are  like  the  vegetable  dyes  in 
the  sense  of  being  organic.  In  many  instances  they 
are  identical  chemically  with  corresponding  dyes 

Page  forty-eight 


formerly  obtained  from  vegetables.  The  one  dif- 
ference, as  we  have  indicated,  is  their  purity.  Just 
as  our  granules  of  sugar  have  displaced  the  sweeten- 
ing of  former  days;  just  as  our  modern  medicines 
have  succeeded  the  herb-teas  of  our  grandparents, 
so  also  have  come  our  dyes.  All  are  achievements 
of  science. 

Coal  tar  dyes  have  come  to  stay,  vegetable  dyes  for 
the  most  part  have  gone  and  will  not  return,  and 
there  is  no  sadness  in  the  word.  It  is  rather  for  us 
to  rise  to  the  challenge  that  has  come,  to  recognize 
our  greater  heritage,  and  by  pains,  patience  and 
intelligence  in  our  work  to  ply  the  art  worthily. 

COLOR  MIXING 

The  following  general  principles  of  color  mixing 
apply  to  dyeing,  both  when  colors  are  mixed  in  a 
dye-bath  and  when  they  are  dyed  one  color  over 
another : 

Red  is  grayed  by  small  amounts  of  yellow  and 
blue  or  by  any  color  containing  both  of  these,  as 
green,  brown  or  gray. 

Yellow  is  grayed  by  small  amounts  of  red  and 
blue  or  by  any  color  containing  both  of  these,  as 
purple,  brown  or  gray. 

Blue  is  grayed  by  small  amounts  of  red  and  yel- 
low, or  by  any  color  containing  both  of  these,  as 
orange,  brown  or  gray. 

Red  plus  yellow  gives  orange  or  yellowish  red  or 
reddish  yellow.  These  are  grayed  by  a  small  amount 
of  blue  or  any  color  containing  blue,  as  green,  pur- 
ple, brown  or  gray. 

Red  plus  blue  gives  purple  or  reddish  blue  or 

Page  forty-nine 


bluish  red.  These  are  grayed  by  a  small  amount  of 
yellow  or  any  color  containing  yellow,  as  orange, 
green,  brown  or  gray. 

Blue  plus  yellow  gives  green  or  bluish  yellow 
(usually  called  greenish  yellow)  or  yellowish  blue 
(usually  called  greenish  blue).  These  are  grayed 
by  a  small  amount  of  red  or  any  color  containing 
red,  as  orange,  purple,  brown  or  gray. 

Red  plus  yellow  plus  blue  give— 

(1)  One  of  the  above  if  any  one  or  two  of  the 
three  is  present  in  the  small  proportion  necessary 
for  graying  purposes. 

(2)  Gray  if  all  three  are  present  in  such  pro- 
portion as  to  neutralize  each  other.     If  this  is  per- 
fectly accomplished  we  have  a  neutral  gray,  other- 
wise a  red  gray,  yellow  gray,  blue  gray,  purple  gray, 
etc.     Gray  intensified  becomes  black,  and  there  are 
modified  blacks,  as  blue  black,  green  black,  etc.    In 
making  up  a  gray  or  black,  beginners  usually  err  in 
taking  too  large  a  proportion  of  yellow,  and  perhaps 
also  of  red. 

(3)  Brown  if  the  three  are  present  within  certain 
other  ranges  of  proportion.     Browns  may  be  classi- 
fied  as  yellow  browns,   red   browns,   blue  browns, 
green  browns,  purple  browns,  etc. 

There  are  all  gradations  between  neutral  gray  and 
the  browns;  between  the  browns  and  the  secondary 
colors,  orange,  green  and  purple;  between  the  sec- 
ondary colors  and  the  primary  colors,  red,  yellow 
and  blue. 

In  the  practical  handling  of  dyes,  in  order  to  get 
the  entire  range  of  colors  from  the  primary  colors, 

Page  fifty 


it  is  necessary  that  the  red,  yellow  and  blue  dyes 
chosen  be  pure  and  luminous  in  color  quality.  For- 
tunately, there  are  such  dyes. 

There  are,  however,  other  valuable  dyes  that  do 
not  have  this  purity  of  color.  For  example,  there 
are  yellows  containing  considerable  red  or  brown, 
reds  containing  yellow  or  blue,  blues  containing  red, 
etc.  Then  there  are  dyes  that  are  green,  brown, 
purple  and  black.  All  of  these  have  limitations 
when  used  in  compounding  colors.  Neither  a  yel- 
low inclined  to  the  brown,  nor  a  red  containing  blue, 
can  be  used  to  form  a  luminous  orange.  Likewise 
the  compounding  of  a  vivid  blue  green,  or  reseda 
green,  forbids  either  the  yellow  or  the  blue  contain- 
ing any  appreciable  admixture  of  red. 

All  of  these  dyes  find  great  use  in  the  industries, 
and  all  of  them,  within  their  limitations,  are  valuable 
for  color  mixing.  Having  acquired  a  working 
knowledge  of  red,  yellow  and  blue  dyes,  it  will  be 
found  of  practical  benefit  to  include  some  of  the 
others.  An  experienced  craftsman  works  with  a 
small  range  of  colors  chosen  for  his  particular 
purpose. 

Dyes  differ  in  coloring  power,  even  different  spec- 
imens of  the  same  dye,  so  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
give  quantitative  formulas  for  certain  colors  bearing 
popular  names.  It  will  be  helpful  to  discuss  a  few 
of  them. 

Olive  green  may  be  made  by  adding  to  blue-green 
either  red  or  preferably  yellow  brown.  This  addi- 
tion should  be  made  a  little  at  a  time  with  frequent 
tests,  a  suggestion  applicable  to  all  color  mixing. 

Tan   is  obtained   by  mixing  yellow   and   yellow 

Page  fifty-one 


brown.     An   added   tinge   of   blue   or   green   gives 
pongee. 

Gold  contains  much  yellow  with  certain  smaller 
amounts  of  red  and  blue.  But  it  might  be  difficult 
to  control  the  addition  of  these  colors,  so  it  is  better 
to  start  with  much  yellow  and  add  a  little  at  a  time 
orange  and  blue  green. 

For  burnt  orange  add  yellow  brown  to  orange. 

For  turquoise  add  to  blue  a  little  yellow,  or  pref- 
erably blue  green. 

For  old  rose  add  to  dilute  red  a  tinge  of  blue  or 
preferably  purple. 

Taupe  is  a  gray  thrown  off,  usually  with  purple, 
but  sometimes  with  red  or  yellow  or  blue. 

Salmon  is  formed  by  adding  to  yellow  some  orange 
and  a  tinge  of  brown. 

Any  dyeing  over  old  color  must  be  considered  as 
a  mixing  of  the  new  color  with  the  old,  which  man- 
ner of  thinking  will  help  in  choosing  the  dye  neces- 
sary for  a  desired  effect.  For  example,  a  green 
cloth  is  to  be  dyed  black.  There  should  be  two 
dyeings,  the  first  a  red  to  neutralize  the  green,  the 
second  a  black  to  intensify  the  neutrality.  Likewise 
a  red  cloth  becomes  black  by  dyeing  first  green  and 
then  black. 

Over  a  light  yellow  purple  may  be  dyed,  the  result 
will  be  a  grayed  purple.  Over  a  strong  yellow  much 
purple  will  be  required  and  the  result  will  be  a  very 
much  grayed  purple  approaching  if  not  becoming 
a  purple  black. 

In   batik   decoration   by   successive    dyeings    the 

Page  fifty-two 


craftsman  is  constantly  mixing  the  new  dye  with  that 
already  in  the  fiber.  Having  once  introduced  an 
intensity  of  any  primary  color,  yellow,  red  or  blue, 
he  must  thereafter,  unless  he  removes  this  color,  com- 
plete his  pattern  by  producing  secondary  and  tertiary 
colors. 


Page  fifty-three 


CHAPTER  III 


WAX  RESIST  PROCESSES 

r  I  ^HE  most  commonly  used 
J_  fabrics  for  batiks  are  thin 
silks,  white  or  light  in  color. 
Wax  penetrates  the  sheer  ma- 
terials better.  They  take  the 
color  more  evenly,  and  retain 
their  brilliant  texture.  Heavy 
materials  must  be  waxed  on 
both  sides  to  insure  perfect 
stopping  out  of  color. 

The  design  is  more  easily 
applied  to  thin  goods,  as  the 
K    decoration   is   readily  traced. 
On  heavy  fabrics  the  design 

is  either  drawn  free  hand  or  pounced.  When  the 
outline  is  drawn  in  wax  the  drawing  does  not  disap- 
pear in  the  dyeing.  When  only  parts  of  the  design 
are  painted  in  with  wax  the  outline  must  be  redrawn 
after  each  dyeing.  For  this  purpose  pouncing  is 
best. 

Velvets  should  be  stopped  out  on  the  wrong  side. 
Steaming  will  raise  the  pile  again,  or  it  may  be  sent 
to  the  dry  cleaner. 

Wood  is  a  good  medium  to  take  wax  resist.    The 


Page  fifty- four 


A  BATIK  FRAME 


~ . 


AN  OUTLINE  DRAWING  IN  WAX 


Page  fifty-five 


COLOR   PAINTED   WITHIN   WAX  OUTLINES 

wax  is  removed  by  scraping.  The  surface  is  cleaned 
with  gasoline  and  finished  in  any  approved  manner. 
Toys,  frames,  trays,  basket  bottoms,  boxes,  etc.,  are 
very  pleasing  when  decorated  in  this  manner. 

Leather  and  paper  are  dampened  and  pasted 
smoothly  on  glass.  They  are  then  decorated  like 
wood. 

Chiffons  and  crepes  may  be  waxed  double,  or  even 
folded  four  times. 

Page  fifty-six 


THE    COMPLETED    PATTERN 


In  applying  a  design,  care  should  be  taken  to  keep 
the  fabric  straight.  Drawing  a  thread  from  the  fab- 
ric makes  a  good  guide. 

When  working  upon  woven  materials  it  is  best  to 
use  a  frame  placed  horizontally  upon  a  table.  A 
frame  suitable  for  this  work  should  be  light  to  handle 
and  strong.  It  should  be  high  enough  above  the 
table  to  keep  the  wax  or  dye  from  touching  it.  When 
the  wax  touches  an  obstacle  before  it  is  cold  it  sticks. 
The  wax  is  apt  to  break  when  pulled  away  from  the 

Page  fifty-seven 


object.  Color  penetrates  by  accident  and  the  result 
is  disappointing.  Some  artists  work  on  a  table  upon 
which  smooth  or  glazed  paper  is  spread.  Here  again 
the  wax  may  also  suffer.  When  dyes  are  painted  on 
the  fabric,  if  they  touch  the  table  or  other  objects 
they  spread  and  mar  the  definite  outline  of  the  design. 

A  frame,  around  the  inside  edge  of  which  are 
cloth  strips  for  pinning  or  sewing  the  fabric  securely, 
is  an  excellent  aid  to  good  workmanship.  Adjustable 
holes  with  corners  secured  by  screws  and  wing  nuts 
make  it  possible  to  roll  long  pieces  of  cloth  at  the 
top  and  bottom  of  the  frame.  Or  by  means  of  these 
holes  the  strips  may  be  spliced  together  to  form  a 
still  larger  frame. 

Paper  should  be  rolled  with  the  cloth  to  prevent 
the  wax  sticking.  Handled  in  this  manner  only  a 
small  part  of  the  work  needs  to  be  exposed,  and  the 
work  can  be  done  on  a  small  table  or  school  desk. 

Another  advantage  of  such  a  frame  is  the  ease  with 
which  the  piece  is  laid  aside  without  injury  during 
the  intervals  of  work.  This  is  especially  valuable 
where  class  problems  are  being  conducted.  It  also 
permits  of  the  work  being  done  in  any  position- 
horizontal,  inclined  or  upright. 

When  dyeing  the  material  more  than  once  the  wax 
must  be  carefully  mended  after  each  dyeing,  or  soon 
the  first  spaces  covered  with  the  resist  are  lost  or 
badly  obscured.  The  material  should  always  be 
dry  before  applying  the  wax. 

Some  workers  use  pure  beeswax.  It  does  not  break 
easily  when  worked  in  a  warm  dye-bath.  It  melts 
at  a  high  temperature.  Resin  mixed  with  beeswax 
melts  at  a  still  higher  temperature.  There  are  special 

Page  fifty-eight 


COLORS   PAINTED   WITHOUT  WAX  OUTLINES 


Page  fifty-nine 


batik  waxes  that  have  all  the  desired  qualities  of 
toughness  and  resistance.  These  mixed  waxes  are 
similar  to  those  used  by  industrial  works  in  Java. 
Paraffin  and  beeswax  are  also  used. 

The  best  container  for  molten  wax  is  a  double 
boiler,  the  common  kitchen  utensil,  as  it  is  possible 
to  keep  the  wax  hot  through  a  class  period  without 
having  the  heater  in  the  class  room.  As  means  of 
heating,  an  electric  toaster,  gas  plate,  canned  heat, 
etc.,  are  suggested. 

The  wax  must  be  applied  hot.  The  brush,  while 
waxing,  should  be  kept  hot  to  insure  good  penetration 
of  the  wax.  To  accomplish  this,  each  time  the  brush 
is  dipped  into  the  molten  wax  it  should  be  held  there 
sufficiently  long  to  remelt  any  wax  that  may  have  con- 
gealed in  or  on  the  brush. 

To  apply  the  wax,  some  use  a  tjanting.  Others  pre- 
fer the  simpler  method  of  a  good  sable  or  camel's 
hair  brush.  The  brush  gives  a  broader  and  more 
varied  treatment.  A  broad  brush  is  best  for  covering 
large  surfaces.  Brushes  used  for  painting  in  oils  or 
water  colors  are  used  for  painting  in  wax  and  dyes. 

Those  who  are  interested  further  in  the  possibilities 
of  the  tjanting  are  referred  to  Pieter  Mijer's  excellent 
treatment  of  this  subject. 

Dyes  suitable  for  pattern  dyeing  should  not  run  or 
"bleed."  Some  use  only  primary  colors.  Others  de- 
sire a  more  extended  range.  A  good  selection  may 
include  red,  yellow,  blue,  orange,  green,  purple, 
brown  and  black. 

The  temperature  of  the  dyes  should  be  below  the 
melting  point  of  the  wax.  Care  must  also  be  used  in 
dissolving  dye.  Granules  in  the  dye-bath  work  havoc 

Page  sixty 


•i 


PART  OF  A  DESIGN  STOPPED  OUT  WITH  WAX,   READY   FOR  THE   FIRST  DYEING 

Page  sixty-one 


with  an  otherwise  beautiful  piece  of  dyeing.  The  dye 
should  be  filtered  through  a  closely  woven  cloth. 
Prepared  dyes  insure  safety,  as  the  compounding  and 
dissolving  is  done  by  formula. 

After  the  last  dyeing  the  fabric  should  be  rinsed 
first  in  warm,  then  in  cold  water.  Much  of  the  wax 
is  removed  in  the  rinsing.  The  remainder  of  the 
wax  is  easily  removed  by  ironing  between  layers  of 
newspaper,  followed  if  necessary  by  a  bath  of  gaso- 
line. If  the  piece  is  very  large  it  should  be  finished 
by  a  professional  cleaner. 

There  are  different  approved  methods  of  pattern 
dyeing  with  wax  resist,  in  the  choice  of  which  the 
craftsman  must  consider  the  conditions  under  which 
the  work  is  to  be  done.  We  give  in  outline  the  steps 
of  three  methods: 

I.  Painting  the  decoration  within  waxed  out- 
lines, followed  by  one  or  more  baths  for  the  ground 
color.  This  is  illustrated  on  pages  55,  56  and  57, 
where  the  following  steps  were  taken: 

1.  A  square  of  white  china  silk,  clean  and  free  of 
sizing,  was  stretched  on  a  frame. 

2.  The  main  lines  were  sketched  in  with  char- 
coal.   The  design  was  outlined  in  wax.    The  shapes 
were  made  small,  as  dye  is  liable  to  streak  when 
painted  over  large  areas. 

3.  The  colors  were  mixed  and  used  like  water 
colors. 

4.  The  small  bell-shaped  flowers  were  painted 
red,  the  pods  yellow,  the  leaves  green.    These  painted 
surfaces  were  then  stopped  out  with  wax. 

5.  Two  gallons  of  warm  water  were  softened  and 

Page  sixty-two 


THE    COMPLETED    PATTERN 


Page  sixty-three 


made  into  a  soap  suds.  This  solution  was  divided 
into  two  equal  parts.  The  first  part  was  used  for 
wetting  the  fabric,  and  "soaping  off"  after  dyeing. 
The  second  part  was  made  into  a  brown  dye-bath  for 
the  dipping. 

II.  Painting  directly  on  the  fabric  without  waxed 
outlines,  and  building  up  the  ground  color  in  one  or 
more  baths.     The  piece  illustrated  on  page  59  was 
done  as  follows : 

1.  The  design  was  drawn  free  hand  upon  the 
fabric,  stretched  in  a  frame. 

2.  The  colors  were  painted  directly.     The  tree 
was  green,   the   bell-like   flowers   orange,   the   dogs 
golden  yellow.    The  brush  strokes  were  very  small. 

3.  The   colored   shapes  were   carefully  covered 
with  wax. 

4.  The  background  was  dyed  a  deep  purple. 

III.  Building  up  the  pattern  by  dyeing  in  suc- 
cessive baths,  beginning  with  the  lighter  and  passing 
to  darker  values,  and  before  each  dipping  stopping 
out  with  wax  the  parts  to  be  retained  in  the  com- 
pleted work.   The  piece  illustrated  on  pages  61  and 
63  was  executed  as  follows : 

1.  The  design  was  drawn  on  strong  paper.    This 
was  then  perforated,  and  the  design  pounced  on  the 
silk  with  powdered  charcoal,  using  a  stiff  bristle 
brush  and  scrubbing  the  charcoal  well  through  the 
holes. 

2.  The  parts  to  remain  white  were  stopped  out  by 
painting  with  wax. 

3.  The  piece  was  dyed  yellow,  after  which  the 
design  was  again  pounced. 

Page  sixty-four 


SAILOR   COLLAR 


VEST 


SELECTED  WORK  OF  ELEMENTARY   HIGH  SCHOOL   CLASS 

Page  sixty-fire 


4.  The  parts  to  remain  yellow  were  stopped  out 
with  wax. 

5.  The  piece  was  dyed  black. 

In  all  these  processes  a  small  piece  of  the  goods 
was  carried  completely  through  the  dye-bath  to 
test  the  color. 

Some  modifications  of  these  processes  are  valuable. 
These  follow,  or  are  suggested  by,  practices  of  the 
Orient. 

1.  The  design  may  be  applied  with  blown  sten- 
ciling. 

2.  Block  printing  and  stick  printing  may  be  used 
and  the  color  impressions  covered  with  wax. 

As  concrete  illustrations  of  textile  decoration  in 
schools  we  present  some  of  the  results  of  two  class 
problems  in  high  school,  the  one  by  a  first  and  second 
year  class,  the  other  by  third  and  fourth  year  pupils 
with  a  few  who  were  posting. 

First  and  Second  Year  Class.  The  pupils  used 
the  method  of  paper  cutting  to  secure  motives  for 
their  designs.  Each  pupil  was  supplied  with  enough 
white  silk  to  make  a  collar,  or  a  tie,  also  with  color, 
wax  and  a  frame  upon  which  to  stretch  the  silk.  The 
method  was  that  of  outlining  in  wax,  painting  in 
color,  and  dipping  for  the  ground  color.  The  pupils 
were  allowed  to  keep  their  work  after  paying  for  the 
materials.  The  illustrations  on  page  65  were  chosen 
from  the  finished  pieces. 

The  crepe-de-chene  collar  is  12  x  12  inches.  The 
outside  border  and  the  largest  shape  at  the  point  of 
the  collar  were  old  rose,  the  fan-like  shape  turquoise 
blue,  the  band  and  spottings  at  the  side  yellow.  The 

Page  sixty-six 


ALL-OVER   PATTERN,  ADVANCED   HIGH   SCHOOL 


Page  sixty-seven 


inside  border,  buds  and  stem  were  blue  and  the  alter- 
nating shapes  yellow. 

These  colors  were  covered  with  wax  and  the  collar 
dyed  gray.-  It  was  then  dipped  in  hot  wax,  carefully 
crackled  and  dipped  in  a  dark  gray  bath.  The  wax 
was  removed  by  ironing  between  layers  of  news- 
paper. Fine  embroidery  silk  was  dyed  yellow  and 
old  rose  for  the  stitchery  that  finished  the  edge  of 
the  collar. 

The  sailor  collar  was  made  of  white  china  silk. 
The  leaves  of  the  design  were  painted  green,  the 
flowers  rose  color  and  the  ground  dyed  a  dark  gray 
blue.  The  dye-bath  was  made  of  blue,  black  and 
purple.  The  collar  was  finished  with  yellow  and  old 
rose  stitchery. 

The  pongee  silk  vest  was  designed  for  a  tailored 
coat.  The  leaves  and  flowers  were  painted  realisti- 
cally. The  ground  was  dyed  blue  and  crackled  in  a 
darker  blue  bath.  The  edge  was  finished  with  dark 
red  stitchery. 

Third  and  Fourth  Year  Class.  This  work  was 
conducted  at  a  later  time.  In  addition  to  more  train- 
ing, these  pupils  had  for  study  many  specimens  of 
good  batiks  and  standard  illustrations  of  the  same. 
The  designs  were  made  with  reference  to  their  fitness 
as  batik  designs. 

The  design  units  illustrated  on  page  73  were 
selected  with  reference  to  their  adaptability  to  some 
form  of  all-over  application. 

The  design  for  the  book  cover,  also  shown  as  an 
all-over  pattern,  page  70,  the  all-over  pattern,  page 
67,  and  the  scarf,  page  69,  were  selected  as  the  best 
work  of  this  class. 

Page  sixty -eight 


ALL-OVER   PATTERN,  ADVANCED   HIGH   SCHOOL 


Page  sixty-nine 


Page  seventy 


ALL-OVER  PATTERN,  ADVANCED  HIGH  SCHOOL 


v 


ALL-OVER  PATTERNS,  ADVANCED  HIGH  SCHOOL 


seventy-one 


A  tracing  of  the  all-over  design,  page  67,  was  first 
made  and  painted  in  water  colors.  The  design  was 
transferred  to  the  silk  by  tracing.  The  colors  of  the 
decoration,  following  the  copy  in  water  color,  were 
painted  in  without  the  use  of  wax  outlines.  The  top 
units  from  left  to  right  were  blue,  violet,  yellow; 
second  row,  violet,  blue,  green,  violet;  third  row, 
yellow,  violet,  blue;  fourth  row,  violet,  blue,  green, 
violet.  The  stems  were  violet,  the  leaves  yellow 
green.  The  background  was  dyed  a  rich  brown. 

The  all-over  design,  page  69,  was  used  for  the  end 
of  a  scarf.  The  silk  was  dyed  yellow,  parts  of  the 
decoration  stopped  out  with  wax,  the  flowers  and 
body  of  the  insect  painted  in  red,  the  red  stopped 
out  with  wax,  and  the  background  dyed  brown.  The 
scarf  was  finished  with  a  fringe  of  orange  silk. 

The  all-over  design,  page  70,  was  pounced  on  the 
silk  after  each  dipping.  The  material  was  dyed 
yellow  and  the  small  spottings  stopped  out.  The 
piece  was  dipped  in  a  gray  purple  dye-bath.  The 
resultant  color  was  a  grayed  lavender.  The  larger 
shapes  in  the  design  were  stopped  out  and  the  ground 
color  dyed  a  deeper  purple. 

Two  other  examples  of  batiks  from  this  class  are 
illustrated : 

1.  The  china  silk  blouse,  page  71,  with  a  yellow 
background  and  all-over  pattern  of  white,  blue  and 
green  shows  a  design  that  is  suitable  for  yardage. 

2.  An  all-over  design,  page  71,  also  suitable  for 
yardage.     The   lavender   flowers   and   leaves   were 
painted  inside  waxed  outlines.    The  spots  were  con- 
nected by  flowing  waxed  outlines.    The  decoration 

Page  seventy -two 


DESIGN   UNITS  FOR  ALL-OVER   PATTERNS 


seventy-three 


was  covered  with  wax  and  the  ground  color  dyed  a 
pale  yellow  gray. 

The  china  silk  handkerchief,  page  74,  is  very  in- 
teresting. The  size  is  17  x  17  inches  with  a  one-inch 
hem.  The  area  inside  the  hem  was  covered  with 
wax,  placed  in  a  bath  of  cold  water,  and  carefully 
crackled.  It  was  then  immersed  in  a  blue  dye-bath. 
After  drying  the  same  area  was  rewaxed,  again 
crackled,  and  immersed  in  a  red  dye-bath.  The  result 
is  very  pleasing,  a  purple  border  with  blue,  red  and 
purple  crackle  forming  a  delicate  net  work  over  the 
white  center. 


BATIKED   HANDKERCHIEF 


Page  seventy-four 


CHAPTER  IV 


BATIKS  AND  OTHER  ILLUMINATED 
TEXTILES 

APPLIED  design  has 
been  the  stabilizing 
factor  in  art  education.  It 
gives  to  art  education  a  tan- 
gible reason  for  its  place  in 
the  schools.  It  injects  into 
every  individual  and  class 
project  the  element  of  dis- 
cipline that  comes  through 
being  required  to  think  in 
terms  of  definite  mediums 
of  expression. 

The  greatest  emphasis, 
and  for  this  reason  perhaps 
the  greatest  success,  has  been  its  application  in  the 
field  of  costume  designing  and  interior  decoration. 
Batiks  lay  a  just  claim  to  having  enriched  this  phase 
of  art  expression.  A  new  creative  and  illuminating 
touch  has  been  given  to  draperies,  covers,  cushions, 
scarfs,  wall  hangings,  and  costumes. 

The  following  pages  illustrate  and  explain  a  num- 
ber of  these  illuminated  objects. 


Page  seventy-five 


PORTION   OF  A  JAVANESE   SARONG 


Page  seventy-six 


SARONGS 

The  sarong  decorated  with  peacocks  and  vines  is 
characteristic.  The  colors  are  red,  blue  and  light 
yellow. 

END  PAPERS 

The  decoration  of  the  end  papers  in  this  book  is 
taken  from  the  design  of  a  very  fine  old  sarong. 
The  material  is  cotton.  It  has  the  quality  and  tex- 
ture of  the  rarest  batiks.  The  dyeing  is  vegetable 
indigo.  Some  of  the  units  were  perhaps  applied 
with  a  tjap,  but  much  of  the  waxing  was  done  with 
single  and  double  spouted  tjantings.  The  ground 
color  is  a  soft  gray  yellow. 

SARONG  DETAILS 

The  batik  details  shown  on  page  95  are  all  taken 
from  old  sarongs.  The  tjanting  was  used  for  all 
these  patterns.  They  are  excellent  pieces  of  native 
craftsmanship. 

The  pattern  on  the  left  has  a  yellow  gray  back- 
ground. The  all-over  dyeing  is  brown  and  the  spot- 
tings  dark  red. 

On  the  right  the  upper  pattern  has  yellow  gray  in 
the  background  and  brown  decoration,  the  lower 
pattern  has  brown  background  and  yellow  gray 
decoration. 

COSTUME  JEWELRY 

The  band  for  this  ornament,  page  78,  is  made  of 
several  layers  of  georgette  crepe  picoted.  It  is  -^ 
inch  wide  and  1  yard  long.  The  ornament,  \l/2  x 
2y%  inches,  was  modeled  from  "petroplast,"  the  mod- 
eling clay  which  sets  without  firing. 

Page  seventy-seven 


Page  seventy-eight 


BATIKED  RIBBON,  CAMISOLE,  AND  COSTUME  JEWELRY 


The  silk  was  folded  to  four  thicknesses.  The  wax 
was  painted  in  a  variety  of  interesting  shapes  on  the 
white  goods.  Bands  in  red,  yellow,  green  and  orange 
were  painted  with  dyes. 

The  petroplast  was  modeled  smooth  and  the  bird, 
flowers  and  pedestal  were  insized  while  the  compo- 
sition was  still  plastic.  When  dry  it  was  dipped  in 
black  enamel.  The  outline  of  the  bird  was  enameled 
in  yellow  and  orange,  the  flowers  painted  in  purple 
and  blue,  the  pedestal  in  brown. 

This  adornment  was  planned  to  be  worn  as  a  neck- 
lace to  brighten  a  dark  costume. 

COSTUME  DECORATION 

The  costume  decoration,  page  53,  was  batiked  on 
yellow  taffeta  silk. 

The  design  was  painted  in  with  wax.  The  piece 
outside  the  decoration  was  covered  with  wax.  The 
material  was  dipped  in  a  dark  brown  bath  and  fin- 
ished by  ironing  between  layers  of  newspapers. 

It  is  suitable  for  a  vest  or  for  millinery. 

BLOUSES 

1.  The  blouse,  page  84,  with  a  rose  design  was 
made  of  white  crepe-de-chene. 

The  outline  of  the  decoration  was  waxed,  and  the 
roses  and  leaves  painted  conventionally.  The  bor- 
ders and  spaces  were  painted  in  wax.  The  border 
of  the  red  was  painted  between  waxed  outlines. 

The  fabric  was  dyed  blue,  and  finished  with  petro- 
plast beads  enameled  in  red. 

Page  seventy-nine 


BATIKED    BLOUSE 


Page  eighty 


2.  The  detail  of  a  georgette  crepe  blouse,  page 
87,  with  a  dark  background  and  all-over  decoration 
in  gold,  is  a  suitable  design  for  yardage.    The  piece 
was  first  dyed  gold,  and  the  pattern  stopped  out  with 
wax.     The  dye-bath  for  the  ground  color  was  purple 
black. 

3.  The  pongee  silk  blouse,  page  80,  is  a  good 
standard  for  service  and  artistic  merit. 

The  leaves,  stems  and  lower  border  decoration 
were  painted  in  wax  on  the  natural  color  of  the  cloth. 

The  piece  was  dyed  blue,  then  the  flowers  and 
upper  border  were  stopped  out.  A  brown  bath  fol- 
lowed, giving  as  the  final  color  a  dark  bronze.  The 
blouse  was  belted  with  a  bronze  silk  cord. 

4.  The   crepe-de-chene   blouse,   page   82,   has   a 
rich  green  background  with  an  after  crackle  in  an 
orange  bath. 

The  edges,  sleeves  and  neck  are  decorated  with  a 
narrow  orange  and  gray  band. 

Petroplast  beads  decorated  to  harmonize  with  the 
color  of  the  silk,  a  brown  cord  girdle  weighted  with 
these  ornaments,  picoted  edges,  and  stitchery  of  silk 
floss  the  same  color  as  the  cord  finish  a  garment  of 
great  beauty  and  dignity, 

SILK  LINING 

The  crepe-de-chene  lining  illustrated  on  page  85 
has  a  grayed  yellow-green  background.  The  flower 
motif  has  yellow,  black  and  orange  in  the  center,  red 
and  purple  in  the  outer  parts.  The  bud  is  red  and 
purple.  The  stem  and  leaves  are  blue.  These  colors 
were  painted  within  wax  outlines. 

Page  eighty-one 


BATIKED  BLOUSE  WITH  PETROPLAST  ORNAMENTS 


Page  eighty-two 


There  were  eight  yards  of  this  lining.  When  roll- 
ing the  waxed  goods  on  the  frame,  a  paper  was  rolled 
up  with  the  material,  to  prevent  the  wax  from 
sticking. 

The  lining  was  used  for  a  full  length  blue  serge 
cape.  After  two  dry  cleanings,  this  garment  was 
still  fresh  and  beautiful. 

CAMISOLE 

1.  The   camisole,    page    78,    was  made  from  a 
14  x  36-inch  piece  of  white  crepe-de-chene.     Half- 
inch  purple  ribbon,  seven-eighths  yard  long,  made 
the  shoulder  straps;  a  narrow  purple  ribbon  gathered 
the  top. 

2.  The  design  in  yellow,  brown  and  green  was 
painted  within  wax  outlines.     The  dyeing  was  in 
purple,  the  crackle  penetrating  the  design. 

3.  The  top  was  finished  with  double  hemstitch- 
ing. 

BATIKED  RIBBON 

The  ribbon  illustrated,  page  78,  was  turquoise 
blue  satin,  7y2  x  36  inches. 

The  design  was  outlined  and  parts  stopped  out. 
The  material  was  dyed  in  a  blue  dye-bath.  The 
blue  was  stopped  out  in  the  flower  shapes.  The  mate- 
rial was  dyed  in  a  yellow  dye-bath.  The  leaves  were 
stopped  out.  The  material  was  dyed  in  a  red  dye- 
bath. 

The  decoration  of  the  finished  ribbon  was  turquoise 
blue,  gray-blue  and  yellow-green.  The  background 
was  dark  olive  green. 

Page  eighty-three 


AN    ILLUMINATED   BLOUSE   WITH    PETROPLAS'f   BEADS 

Page  eighty-four 


A  CAPE  LINING 


Page  eighty-five 


INTERIOR  DECORATION 

DOOR  CURTAIN 

The  door  curtain  illustration,  page  75,  is  a  sym- 
bolic composition  with  a  mystic  wall  and  gate,  and 
imaginary  birds  and  a  tree. 

The  color  scheme  is  a  black  background,  blue  and 
purple  tree,  yellow  and  blue  birds,  a  purple  and 
orange  fence  and  gate,  and  a  foreground  of  blue,  yel- 
low and  green. 

The  design  was  painted  directly  upon  a  good 
quality  of  silk,  without  guiding  lines  or  waxed  out- 
lines. The  painting  was  done  very  rapidly,  perhaps 
in  ten  minutes. 

The  material  was  dipped  several  times,  once  in 
yellow,  twice  in  red  (more  red  was  added  to  the  dye- 
bath  after  the  first  red  was  exhausted),  twice  in  the 
blue  which  was  developed  the  same  as  the  red,  and 
at  last  back  into  the  yellow.  When  the  dyeing  was 
completed  the  piece  was  thoroughly  rinsed  and  the 
wax  was  removed. 

The  crackle  caused  through  successive  dyeings, 
the  soft  edges  of  the  outlines  and  the  blending  of  the 
background  with  the  shapes  freed  the  piece  from  the 
criticism  often  invited  where  colors  are  painted  in 
large  areas. 

TABLE  COVER 

This  design,  page  89,  (21  x  25  inches)  consists  of 
two  conventional  dogs  adapted  from  the  Chinese. 
The  well-chosen  colors  are  yellow  and  orange,  with 
accents  of  black.  The  border  decoration  was  painted 
in  light  green.  Large  and  small  spots  suggest  the 
use  of  the  tjanting.  The  darkest  values  are  reseda 
green. 

Page  eighty-six 


BATIK   DETAIL    FROM    BLOUSE 


Page  eighty-seven 


The  fabric  was  first  dyed  yellow.  The  dogs  and 
spacing  of  borders  were  drawn  in  fine  wax  outlines. 
The  dogs  were  painted  orange,  with  small  shapes  of 
black  for  accents,  and  covered  with  wax.  The  mate- 
rial was  then  dipped  in  green  dye,  rinsed  and  dried. 

The  decoration  for  the  border  was  drawn  in  wax, 
and  the  background  for  the  dogs  was  also  waxed. 

In  developing  a  pattern  where  so  much  drawing 
is  needed,  pains  should  be  taken  to  retain  the  original 
outlines  of  the  drawing.  If  the  design  is  too  much 
obscured  after  successive  dippings,  the  drawing 
should  again  be  transferred.  The  outline  for  the 
dogs  and  spacings  for  borders  were  saved  by  waxing. 
The  green  decoration  on  the  border  was  not  painted 
until  after  two  dippings. 

The  crackle,  tying  the  whole  decoration,  is  even 
and  adds  beauty  to  the  design. 

The  beauty  of  this  batik  lies  in  its  fitness,  its  variety 
of  line,  its  pleasing  space  relations  and  its  good  color 
scheme. 

ELEPHANT  DECORATION 

The  elephant  decoration  illustrated  on  page  91 
(27x25  inches)  was  done  on  white  taffeta.  The 
frame  was  made  of  two-inch  basswood  with  a  nar- 
row gilt-edge  moulding  for  a  finish.  The  decoration 
on  the  frame  was  batiked. 

The  elephant,  with  its  decoration  and  border,  was 
outlined  in  wax. 

The  vertical  stripes  numbered  from  left  to  right 
were:  yellow  (1-3-5-7-9);  orange  (2-6-10);  ma- 
genta (4-8).  These  were  painted  in  and  covered 

Page  eighty-eight 


BATIKED   TABLE    COVER 


Page  eighty-nine 


with  wax.    The  fabric  was  dipped  in  a  dye-bath  of 
grayed  purple. 

The  design  on  the  frame  was  painted  in  wax  and 
the  colors  in  the  design  reproduced  from  the  colors 
in  the  silk.  Most  of  the  wax  was  removed  with  a 
knife  and  the  balance  with  a  gasoline  wash.  It  was 
afterwards  finished  with  a  coating  of  wax. 

This  wall  hanging  has  a  few  spots  where  the  treat- 
ment was  not  thorough.  The  red  stripe  under  the 
elephant's  head  shows  unintentional  breaking  in  the 
wax.  Too  much  blue  crept  into  many  places.  It 
cannot  be  emphasized  too  many  times — before  paint- 
ing over  the  colors  with  wax,  the  colors  must  be  dry. 

This  work  illustrates  the  success  of  painting  in 
rather  large  surfaces  of  color  without  streaks  appear- 
ing and  harmonizing  the  whole  by  tying  together 
with  crackle.  The  design  of  the  elephant  and  the  out- 
side border  are  unusually  meritorious. 

"A  TABLE  BEFORE  ME" 

This  decoration  was  drawn  on  glazed  paper  and 
pounced  on  white  china  silk,  40  x  72  inches.  There 
was  no  painting  of  colors,  the  process  being  one  of 
dippings  only. 

The  design  was  outlined  in  wax.  The  small  spot- 
tings,  border  lines  and  markings  in  the  vine  were 
stopped  out,  and  the  piece  was  dipped  in  a  yellow 
dye-bath. 

Through  each  dipping  a  dye  record  was  kept  by 
carrying  a  small  piece  of  the  goods  through  the  dye- 
bath.  After  each  dyeing  the  wax  was  carefully 
mended. 

Page  ninety 


A   WALL    HANGING   WITH    BATIKED    FRAME 


Page  ninety-one 


The  bell-like  flowers  in  bands  or  borders,  the  flow- 
ers at  the  foot  of  the  vine,  the  body,  wing,  tail  and 
lower  part  of  the  bird's  legs,  tendrils,  dragon  fly  and 
border  were  stopped  out,  and  the  piece  dyed  orange. 

The  remaining  bands  and  shapes  in  the  flowers, 
inside  and  outside  border,  and  tendrils  were  stopped 
out  and  the  next  dipping  was  blue.  The  background 
and  remaining  shapes  were  a  lovely  warm  gray 
lavender. 

Part  of  the  leaves,  head  of  the  bird,  upper  part  of 
the  bird's  legs,  shapes  in  the  foreground,  and  roots 
of  the  vine  were  stopped  out.  The  next  dyeing  was 
blue. 

The  vine,  remaining  leaves,  tendrils,  the  remainder 
of  the  foreground  and  spaces  that  were  needed  to  fill 
in  were  drawn  in  wax. 

The  wax  was  removed  from  the  wing  and  the  tail 
of  the  bird  and  the  batik  dipped  in  a  dye-bath  of 
deep  blue. 

The  color  range  in  this  piece  includes  red-orange, 
yellow,  blue,  turquoise,  two  shades  of  lavender,  green 
and  sparkles  of  white  broken  by  every  color,  on  a 
gray-blue  background. 

The  work  on  this  batik  extended  over  a  period  of 
two  weeks. 

"THE  CAPTURE" 
The  frontispiece  is  worthy  of  special  study. 

The  material  was  white  pussy  willow  silk,  40  x  72 
inches. 

A  sketch  of  the  design,  6l/2  x  10  inches,  was  made 
in  water  colors. 

Page  ninety-tiuo 


"A   TABLE    BEFORE    ME,"  BY    IDA    STRAWN    BAKER 

Page  ninety-three 


The  fabric  was  freed  from  sizing  and  dyed  a  pale 
yellow. 

It  was  then  stretched  in  a  frame  and  the  three 
"thunder  birds,"  the  clouds,  and  a  few  flowers  in  the 
foreground  were  painted  in  wax.  The  bills,  eyes  and 
legs  of  the  birds  were  painted  in  with  orange  dye. 

The  roadway,  parts  of  the  rocks,  drapery  on  the 
Indian  maiden,  some  of  her  decoration,  and  parts  of 
the  foliage,  were  painted  directly  on  the  silk  with 
yellow  or  orange  dye. 

The  remaining  foliage,  more  decoration  worn  by 
the  maiden,  the  grass,  leaves  on  the  flowers  and  the 
stems  were  painted  green. 

These  shapes  were  stopped  out  with  wax.  Much 
painting  in  of  shapes  was  done  with  wax.  This  gave 
a  finish  and  jewel-like  quality  to  the  work  as  it  pro- 
gressed. 

Before  the  material  was  dyed  it  was  soaked  in 
warm  water  the  same  temperature  as  the  dye-bath. 
The  piece  was  then  dyed  in  a  bath  of  blue.  It  was 
worked  constantly  for  about  ten  minutes.  It  was 
removed  from  the  dye  and  rinsed  in  clear  warm 
water. 

After  rinsing,  the  material  was  placed  flat  between 
layers  of  bath  towels  and  much  of  the  moisture  re- 
moved. The  drying  was  finished  by  hanging  over 
a  waxed  line. 

The  sky  and  the  blue  of  the  border  were  next 
stopped  out,  leaving  for  the  next  bath  the  pony,  the 
remainder  of  the  Indian  maiden,  the  tree  trunks  and 
other  shapes  in  the  foreground. 

The  frame  was  placed  in  an  upright  position  after 

Page  ninety-four 


DETAILS    FROM   OLD   SAROXGS 


Page  ninety-five 


the  custom  of  Javanese  workers.  While  waxing,  the 
light  shone  through  and  every  uncovered  spot  was 
easily  seen.  A  medium  sized  soft  brush  was  used 
for  stopping  out  the  large  spaces. 

Great  care  was  taken  to  drain  the  excess  wax  from 
the  brush.  This  is  more  necessary  when  the  work  is 
erect,  as  it  prevents  the  wax  from  running  down  the 
goods. 

The  third  dye-bath  was  prepared  with  red  and 
a  little  yellow.  A  piece  of  the  fabric  dyed  with  the 
last  dipping  was  dyed  in  this  bath  to  test  the  color. 
The  material  when  dyed  in  this  bath  was  a  rich, 
red-purple. 

After  partly  drying  with  bath  towels  the  piece  was 
stretched  on  the  frame  to  finish  drying. 

When  thoroughly  dry  the  entire  surface  was  waxed 
except  the  mane  and  tail  of  the  horse,  the  hair  of 
the  maiden,  a  few  of  the  jewels,  some  details  in  the 
foreground,  and  the  ground  of  the  border. 

All  the  broken  places  in  the  wax  were  carefully 
mended  for  the  final  dipping.  The  colors  for  the 
bath  were  dark  green  and  black.  The  piece  was 
finished  by  rinsing  in  warm  water,  then  in  cold,  and 
finally  by  a  gasoline  bath. 

The  work  extended  over  a  period  of  two  weeks. 

It  is  a  finished  piece,  rare  and  beautiful  in  its 
illumination. 


Page  ninety-six 


CHAPTER  V 


DYEING  FOR  PLAYS  AND  PAGEANTS 

r  I  ^HE  play  bases  its  claim 
J_  in  the  school  curriculum 
on  the  very  essence  of  human 
nature.  The  art  of  being  some 
one  or  something  else  in 
thought  and  action  under  a 
setting  of  conditions  and 
through  a  flow  of  events  is 
practiced  by  all  of  us.  It  is 
the  eternal  expression  of  play- 
ful and  imitative  childhood, 
and,  though  restraints  enter 
with  maturity,  it  never  leaves 
us.  Witness  the  audience  we  give  to  the  stage. 

This  has  been  recognized  in  the  study  of  the  play 
in  literature  and  in  the  production  of  the  school  play. 
The  application  of  the  art  training  of  the  school  in 
giving  the  play  its  setting  and  costumes  is  of  the 
greatest  value.  The  life  of  a  school  finds  expression, 
through  co-operation  of  all  departments,  in  its  own 
community  theater. 

Dyeing  is  an  important  consideration  in  a  dramatic 
production.  Colorful  costumes  and  properties  have 
a  large  part  in  making  a  play. 

The  possibilities  of  continuous  play  without  scene 
shifting,  by  drawing  unobtrusive  curtains  alternately 

Page  ninety-seven 


MINIATURE   STAGES,   PLAIN   AND   DECORATED   BY   CHILDREN 
Page  ninety-eight 


STAGE  SCENES  IN    MINIATURE 


Page  ninety-nine 


to  the  right  and  to  the  left — creating  atmosphere  by 
the  merest  suggestion — is  simple  when  dyes  and  dye- 
ing enter  into  the  plans  of  the  setting.  The  old  heavy 
painted  scenery  is  not  a  part  of  the  new  drama. 

The  ground  cloth  and  colored  lights  also  offer  op- 
portunities for  the  service  of  the  dyer. 

Costumes  are  more  easily  created  when  soft  old 
materials  are  dyed,  and  it  requires  but  little  experi- 
ence to  discover  how  the  beauty  and  effectiveness  of 
a  play  are  enhanced  thereby. 

The  proscenium  arch  takes  its  place  in  the  illusion, 
when  the  imagination  is  stimulated  by  color  decora- 
tion. 

There  should  be  an  intimate  co-operation  between 
the  community  or  little  theater  and  craft  workers. 

The  relation  of  the  little  theater  to  those  who  do 
handicraft  is  stated  by  Mr.  George  Somnes,  Director 
of  the  Little  Theater  of  Indianapolis,  as  follows: 

"Too  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  all-over  dyeing,  batiks,  and  other  pattern 
dyeing,  and  their  application  in  the  work  of  the  little 
theater. 

"Preeminently  the  little  theater  stands  for  the  giv- 
ing of  the  theater  back  to  the  artist,  be  he  producer, 
musician,  scene  designer,  costume  designer,  dancer  or 
author.  There  is  the  endeavor  to  establish  each  little 
theater  group  as  a  means  of  community  expression. 
The  use  of  color  in  its  relation  to  the  play  and  lights, 
as  scenery  and  in  costumes,  is  so  obvious  and  necessary 
that  it  needs  scarcely  more  than  mention.  As  experi- 
mentation is  necessary  and  desirable,  there  must  be  at 

Page  one  hundred 


MINIATURE  STAGECRAFT 


Page  one  hundred  one 


the  bottom  an  actual  foundation  and  knowledge  upon 
which  to  experiment  and  build. 

"School  plays  and  pageants  could  be  improved 
many  hundred  percent  if  the  knowledge  of  color  and 
its  application  were  made  more  general.  Not  only 
would  children  be  taught  that  green  and  red  go  to- 
gether, but  they  would  be  taught  just  what  greens 
and  reds  form  the  various  combinations — they  could 
find  out  under  what  lights  certain  colors  react  best. 

"Give  us  more  artists  and  craftsmen  and  we  will 
have  a  real  theater;  give  us  local  artists  and  craftsmen 
and  we  will  have  a  Community  Theater." 

In  the  following  item  from  "The  Workshop,"  the 
magazine  issued  by  the  Little  Theater  Society  of 
Indiana,  the  editor  writes  to  the  community  of  the 
dyed  costumes  used  in  "Dierdre  of  the  Sorrows." 

"The  Little  Theater  Society  feels  it  very  significant 
that  they  are  able  to  call  attention  to  the  use  of  color 
in  the  present  production  and  to  mention  that  its  ap- 
plication in  this  play  is  the  work  of  local  artists.  The 
Waldcraf t  Studios  have  generously  give  time,  service 
and  experience  to  help  make  this  production  com- 
plete. Does  not  that  sound  hopeful  for  our  develop- 
ment, and  by  example,  are  there  not  more  people  in 
other  fields  who  can  give  their  time,  knowledge  and 
experience  to  the  development  of  something  which 
when  it  is  completed  as  an  institution  will  belong  to 
you?" 

The  illustrations  shown  in  this  chapter  are,  ( 1 )  a 
plain  miniature  stage  constructed  of  pasteboard  and 
upon  which  the  study  of  the  decoration  for  a  school 
play  may  well  begin,  (2)  two  stages  that  have  been 
thus  decorated,  (3)  two  scenes  in  a  play  with  minia- 

Page  one  hundred  tivo 


MINIATURE  STAGE,    PLAIN   AND  DRAPED  WITH   BATIKED   HANGINGS 


Page  one  hundred  three 


ture  jointed  dolls  wearing  real  dyed  costumes  made 
by  children,  (4)  several  children  at  work  designing 
and  constructing  for  plays,  (5)  a  group  of  scenes 
from  a  play  given  in  a  backyard,  for  which  the  cos- 
tumes were  especially  dyed,  (6)  another  miniature 
stage  made  of  wood,  shown  plain  and  decorated  with 
dyed  hangings  for  a  play,  and  (7)  some  character 
parts  from  the  Little  Theater  of  Indianapolis,  for 
which  special  dyeing  was  done. 

The  miniature  pasteboard  stages,  page  98,  were 
decorated  with  opaque  water  colors  by  school  chil- 
dren. These  illustrate  the  preliminary  step  in  deco- 
rating a  stage  with  dyed  textiles.  They  would  re- 
produce in  batiks. 

The  first  decorated  stage  is  planned  to  play 
"Treasure  Island."  The  decoration  over  the  pro- 
scenium arch  is  "The  little  ship  that  is  headed  south- 
west," and  the  border, 

"Fifteen  men  on  a  dead  man's  chest, 
Yo-ho-ho  and  a  bottle  of  rum." 

The  background  colors  are  blue  and  black,  the 
ship  white  and  the  fifteen  men  red  and  white. 

The  other  stage  is  planned  for  a  patriotic  enter- 
tainment. The  colors  for  this  occasion  are  conven- 
tional. 

The  miniature  stage  in  wood  (page  103)  and  the 
ensemble  pictured  suggests  dyeing  of  stage  proper- 
ties. 

The  proscenium  arch  of  this  little  stage  was  deco- 
rated for  the  study  of  the  play  "Restoring  the 
Mourners."  The  dramatic  story  tells  of  the  exile  of 
the  Miami  Indians  from  Indiana  to  Kansas.  When 

Page  one  hundred  four 


SCENES  FROM  AN  OUT-OF-DOOR  PLAY 


Page  one  hundred  five 


this  event  took  place  there  were  seventeen  states  in 
the  Union.  The  Indians  called  these  states  the 
"Seventeen  Fires"  (Council  Fires).  These  "fires" 
were  treated  symbolically  in  the  border  at  the  top 
of  the  proscenium  arch. 

The  fires,  realistic  in  color,  were  painted  in  and 
stopped  out  with  wax.  The  panels  were  dyed  blue. 
The  spaces  back  of  the  fires  and  the  council  were 
stopped  out  with  wax  and  the  whole  dyed  a  deep 
purple.  This  stage  construction  is  suitable  for  the 
end  of  a  room  or  hall  where  there  is  no  balcony  or 
for  out-of-doors. 

The  curtain,  seen  through  the  proscenium  arch 
and  enlarged  on  page  108,  is  an  interesting  batik 
dyed  in  values  of  red,  blue  and  purple. 

The  decoration  was  painted  realistically  on  the 
white  silk  and  covered  with  wax. 

The  bottom  of  the  piece  for  about  four  or  five 
inches  was  kept  in  the  dye-bath  until  most  of  the 
color  was  exhausted.  A  small  amount  of  red  was 
added  to  the  bath  and  little  by  little  the  material  was 
immersed  in  the  bath  until  about  two-thirds  of  the 
goods  were  dyed. 

The  top  of  the  material  was  dyed  blue  in  like 
manner. 

The  bottom  is  a  brilliant  red,  the  top  a  bright  blue 
and  the  center  different  values  of  purple  and  pale 
lavender. 

The  pictures  of  Mr.  George  Somnes  and  Mrs. 
Eugene  Fife  as  Naisi  and  Dierdre,  in  "Dierdre  of 
the  Sorrows,"  page  107,  illustrate  some  of  the  hand- 
dyed  costumes  for  this  play. 

Page  one  hundred  six 


HAND  DYED   COSTUMES   FROM   THE    LITTLE   THEATER 

Page  one  hundred  seven 


Mrs.  Fife's  cloak  was  a  beautiful  clear  blue;  her 
dress  a  dark  red;  the  tie-dyed  veil  a  deep  purple; 
the  design  an  intense  yellow-gold. 

There  was  no  attempt  to  show  batik  in  the  deco- 
ration. The  wax  resist  was  the  easiest  means  of 
decorating  the  costume. 

Mr.  Somnes'  cloak  was  a  purple  gray  with  sym- 
bolic designs  painted  in  wax.  His  boots  were  dyed 
brown. 

These  costumes  were  made  of  old  material.  All 
of  the  costumes  were  dyed  to  suggest  contact  with  the 
elements. 


A   SCENE    CURTAIN 


Page  one  hundred  eight 


CHAPTER  VI 


TIE-DYED  WORK 


T; 


kHIS  beautiful  and  fasci- 
nating art  of  textile  deco- 
ration, applied  to  draperies 
and  articles  of  dress,  has  been 
practiced  in  many  countries 
for  centuries.  Old  pieces  have 
been  found  in  South  America, 
in  Peru  and  Bolivia.  In  the 
Philippines  and  in  provinces 
of  India  the  work  may  still 
be  seen,  the  art  having  been 
handed  down  from  generations 
unknown. 

The  essential  process  consists  in  dyeing  the  cloth 
in  a  dye-bath  after  having  wound  parts  of  it  more 
or  less  tightly  with  string  or  cord,  which  serves  as 
a  resist  to  prevent  the  color  from  reaching  those 
parts  of  the  fabric.  The  result  is  a  white  or,  if  the 
cloth  has  been  previously  dyed,  a  light  colored  pat- 
tern on  a  darker  background. 

The  method  is  capable  of  more  elaborate  work. 
There  may  be  several  dyeings,  beginning  with  lighter 
colors  and  passing  to  those  of  darker  values,  and  be- 
tween the  dyeings  additional  tying  or  untying  or 
both. 

For  example,  a  cloth  is  dyed  light  gray,  then  a  pat- 

Page  one  hundred  nine 


PORTION    OF   A    CHUNDRI   SHOWING  TIE-DYED   WORK   DONE    IN    INDIA 


Page  one  hundred  ten 


tern  tied  into  it,  after  which  it  is  put  through  a  light 
blue  dye-bath.  This  gives  a  light  gray  design  upon 
a  grayed  blue  background.  But  suppose  now  that 
a  part  only  of  the  tying  is  removed,  some  additional 
tying  done  in  the  grayed  blue  field,  and  a  third  dye- 
bath  used,  this  time  a  light  red.  The  background 
becomes  a  grayed  purple  and  in  the  design  are  gray, 
grayed  blue  and  grayed  red. 

There  may  be  a  great  variety  of  designs,  depend- 
ing upon  the  manner  of  tying  the  individual  unit  and 
the  spacing  of  these  units  with  relation  to  each  other. 

The  Oriental  work  is  characterized  by  very  small 
individual  ties  and  the  arrangement  of  many  of  these 
into  some  geometrical  or  pictorial  pattern.  The 
grouping  of  these  little  ties  accurately  and  uniformly 
into  lines  and  design  clusters  challenges  wonder  and 
admiration.  But  even  with  the  dexterity  acquired 
by  these  people  the  process  is  slow  and  laborious. 

The  illustration  (page  110)  shows  a  piece  of  tie- 
dyed  work  from  India.  The  material  is  cotton. 
Careful  examination  shows  it  to  have  been  done  in 
the  following  manner:  The  cloth,  which  is  very 
thin,  was  folded  to  form  four  thicknesses.  Then  at 
each  point  where  a  tie  was  desired  the  four  thick- 
nesses were  pressed  or  drawn  up  and  wound  very 
tightly  with  string,  the  very  tip  of  the  fabric  being 
left  exposed  to  take  the  dye  like  the  background. 
After  dyeing  and  removing  the  ties  the  cloth  was 
unfolded,  showing  the  four  repeats.  The  upper  left 
quadrant  was  uppermost  in  the  tying,  and  shows  the 
dark  centers  very  distinctly.  Then  came  in  order 
the  upper  right  showing  small  dark  centers,  the 
lower  right  showing  few  dark  centers,  and  the  lower 
left  showing  none  at  all. 

Page  one  hundred  eleven 


o  o 


A   TIE-DYED    PATTERN    BY   HIGH   SCHOOL    PUPIL 
Page  one  hundred  twelve 


PORTION   OF  A  TIE-DYED  SILK   SCARF 

Page  one  hundred  thirteen 


As  with  other  crafts  that  have  come  to  us  from  the 
East,  we  have  not  chosen  to  imitate  their  marvelous 
perfections  of  detail.  It  has  rather  been  to  our  lik- 
ing to  work  out  space  and  color  adjustments  in  a 
manner  more  in  keeping  with  our  national  tempera- 
ment. And  it  is  not  without  its  measure  of  success 
in  artistic  and  pleasing  results. 

The  illustration  on  page  1 12  is  the  work  of  a  school 
boy.  The  material  was  cotton,  dyed  old  rose  before 
the  tying  was  done.  After  the  tying  it  was  dyed 
deep  blue.  The  space  relations  are  very  good. 

The  work  upon  such  a  piece  should  proceed  in 
the  following  manner.  First  the  cloth  should  be 
prepared  for  dyeing  in  the  manner  indicated  in  the 
chapter  on  dyeing.  The  centers  of  the  ties  should 
next  be  located.  Sometimes  the  cloth  is  merely 
gathered  at  each  center  and  tied,  but  with  larger  pat- 
terns it  is  often  folded  in  some  definite  way.  The 
border  in  this  piece  was  made  by  gathering  across 
the  entire  piece  and  tying. 

If  the  tying  is  very  tight  the  outlines  will  be  sharp. 
With  a  little  looseness  in  the  ties  the  color  will  creep 
in,  the  results  of  which  are  often  very  beautiful.  A 
tie  that  is  too  loose,  however,  is  in  danger  either  of 
coming  off  in  the  dye-bath,  or  it  may  allow  the  color 
to  penetrate  to  the  extent  of  destroying  the  design. 

Too  prolonged  treatment  in  the  dye-bath,  or  dye- 
ing at  too  high  a  temperature,  may  cause  too  much 
penetration  of  color  into  the  tied  spaces. 

On  page  1 13  is  shown  a  portion  of  a  silk  scarf.  In 
this  case  the  white  cloth  was  gathered  at  the  re- 
spective centers,  without  any  definite  plan  of  folding, 
and  tied  rather  tightly  with  a  few  winds  of  string 

Page  one  hundred  fourteen 


A   TIE-DYED    BORDER 


PORTION   OF  A  TIE-DYED  SCARF 


Page  one  hundred  fifteen 


about  an  inch  or  more  from  the  center.  The  piece 
was  then  dyed  a  soft  gray  yellow.  Then  more  wind- 
ing was  done  so  as  to  leave  only  the  tips  exposed. 
The  next  dye-bath  was  a  soft  blue  somewhat  stronger 
than  the  yellow.  The  color  qualities  are  beautiful. 
The  border  shows  the  penetration  of  the  blue  color 
in  a  very  happy  manner. 

The  border  design  on  page  1 15  shows  the  result  of 
a  definite  manner  of  folding  the  cloth  before  tying. 

The  portion  of  a  scarf  illustrated  on  page  115  shows 
one  large  pattern  beginning  at  the  center  of  the 
scarf.  The  scarf  was  gathered  or  folded  from  the 
center  and  tied  at  intervals.  The  color  is  delicate 
old  rose,  especially  beautiful  for  evening  wear. 

Sometimes  small  objects,  such  as  marbles  or  glass 
beads,  are  placed  at  the  center  of  the  tied  spots  and 
the  cloth  tied  around  them. 

A  very  interesting  development  of  tie-dyed  work 
and  one  which  greatly  increases  the  variety  of  de- 
signs is  what  we  may  term  stick  tying,  i.e.,  tying  over 
sticks. 

The  sticks  for  this  purpose  are  those  commonly 
used  by  school  children  in  stick  printing.  These  are 
sold  by  all  the  leading  school  art  supply  houses. 
These  sticks  are  treated  so  they  will  not  absorb  color, 
which  makes  them  especially  suitable  for  tie-dyed 
work.  They  are  of  different  shapes,  squares,  circles, 
triangles,  oblongs,  etc.  On  these  shapes  the  cloth 
may  be  folded  in  different  ways,  giving  an  element 
of  geometrical  symmetry,  which,  however,  is  always 
softened  in  the  dye-bath  as  the  color  makes  its  little 
incursions  into  the  tied  spots. 

Page  one  hundred  sixteen 


EXAMPLES  OF  STICK  TYIXC 


STICK  TIED  PATTERNS 


Page  one  hundred  seventeen 


Stick  tying  is  not  only  a  good  craft  problem  but 
also  splendid  for  the  school  room  for  both  boys  and 
girls. 

It  is  best  to  lay  out  the  design  on  the  cloth  by  stick 
printing  with  a  very  light  tint  of  the  color  to  be  used 
in  the  first  dyeing,  and  using,  of  course,  the  end  of 
the  stick  over  which  the  cloth  is  to  be  tied.  This 
insures  a  proper  direction  of  the  axes  of  the  tied 
spots. 

On  page  1 17  are  shown  a  number  of  tyings  over  the 
different  sticks,  and  also  some  dyed  spots  resulting 
from  tying  in  several  ways.  Any  school  boy  can 
devise  other  stick  ties,  and  he  will  be  delighted  with 
some  of  the  effects  produced  by  his  inventions. 

We  also  show  (page  119)  a  silk  scarf  tied  over 
sticks,  with  a  border  at  each  end,  ready  for  the  dye- 
bath.  On  page  120  is  this  same  scarf  after  dyeing. 
The  work  was  carried  out  in  the  following  manner: 
The  stick  used  was  a  flat  oblong  one-eighth  inch 
thick,  five-eighths  inch  wide  and  one  inch  long.  The 
cloth  was  stick  printed  with  light  yellow  to  locate 
the  centers  for  the  ties.  The  end  of  the  stick  was 
placed  at  the  center,  the  cloth  folded  equally  on  the 
two  sides,  and  the  tying  done  as  shown  on  the  first 
stick  (page  117). 

The  entire  scarf  was  dipped  in  warm  water  before 
dyeing.  This  conformed  to  our  directions  for  dye- 
ing and  also  caused  the  ties  to  tighten.  The  piece 
was  first  dyed  yellow,  then  without  any  change  in 
the  tying  it  was  dyed  green. 

After  a  thorough  rinsing  the  two  yellow  green 
bands  around  the  stick  were  protected  by  additional 
tying  and  the  upper  and  lower  ties  removed,  expos- 

Page  one  hundred  eighteen 


A   PIECE   OF  STICK  TYING   READY   FOR  THE  DYE-BATH 


UNITS  OF  THE   PATTERN    FROM   THE   ABOVE  TYING 

Page  one  hundred  nineteen 


A   SILK   DRAPERY  DECORATED   BY   STICK   TYING 

Page  one  hundred  twenty 


A  STICK-TIED  LINING  FOR   JACKET 

Page  one  hundred  twenty-one 


ing  two  white  bands.  Then  followed  a  red  dyeing, 
another  rinsing,  the  removal  of  all  ties,  and  a  final 
dyeing  in  a  very  dilute  golden  yellow. 

The  result  is  a  ground  color  of  rich,  beautiful 
brown.  In  the  tied  spots  are  bands  of  gold,  of 
orange-red,  of  yellow-green  and  of  brown,  also  a 
brown  center.  Along  the  edges  of  these  bands  the 
colors  have  crept  in,  one  here  and  another  there,  to 
produce  a  beautiful  iridescence.  The  same  colors 
are  repeated  in  the  borders. 

The  lining  of  the  jacket,  page  121,  is  a  beautiful 
piece  of  stick  tying  on  pongee  silk.  The  colors  here 
are  yellow,  green  and  grayed  purple,  as  well  as  the 
original  color  of  the  pongee.  These  were  three  dye- 
baths,  yellow,  blue  and  red. 


Page  one  hundred  ticenty-tii-0 


CHAPTER  VII 


STICK  PRINTING,  BLOCK  PRINTING 
AND  STENCIL  DYEING 


IT  has  been  seen  how  versatile 
the  batik  method  is  as  a 
means  of  illuminating  fabrics, 
also  how  design  is  the  control- 
ling element  in  all  good  batik 
work.  In  both  the  space  and 
color  relations  the  batik  worker 
has  control  of  the  entire  sur- 
face subject  only  to  the  limita- 
tions imposed  by  the  mediums 
in  which  he  is  working. 

It  follows  that  a  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  design  must 
underlie  good  batik  work  as 
well  as  a  knowledge  of  dyes. 

In  taking  up  the  other  ways  in  which  school  chil- 
dren are  using  dyes,  it  is  well  to  place  emphasis  upon 
the  design  elements  involved.  All  dyeing  as  done 
by  craftsmen  and  in  the  schools  involves  design. 
Even  all-over  dyeing  is  carried  out  with  the  idea  of 
the  dyed  piece  becoming  a  part  of  some  larger  whole. 

The  earliest  use  of  dyes  in  the  schools  is  in  stick 
printing,  and  here  begin  the  first  lessons  in  pattern 
dyeing. 


Page  one  hundred  twenty-three 


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one  hundred  twenty-four 


All  shapes  used  in  design  resolve  themselves  into 
certain  recognized  types.  These  type  shapes  are 
the  square,  oblong,  triangle,  circle,  ellipse  and  oval. 
There  are  also  standards  of  color  that  have  become 
associated  with  these  types.  They  are  red,  yellow, 
blue,  orange,  green  and  violet.  These  shapes  and 
colors  are  taught  universally  by  teachers  who  train 
children  in  the  elementary  concepts  of  design. 

It  is  the  adjustment  of  these  shapes  and  colors  in 
space  that  constitutes  design.  It  is  the  application 
of  these  shapes  and  colors  to  definite  materials  for 
definite  uses  in  the  child's  life  that  constitutes  applied 
design. 

When  the  child  prints  a  square  on  his  paper  it  is 
a  real  square  and  good  in  color.  The  next  one  will 
be  a  real  duplicate,  both  in  shape  and  color.  The 
problem  is  where  to  put  the  duplicate.  That  is  the 
essence  of  design,  and  both  teacher  and  pupil  are 
re,ady  to  take  hold  of  it.  There  is  time  for  discussion 
and  drill.  Results  must  follow.  The  child  begins 
to  sense  and  appreciate  standards  and  to  love  ac- 
curacy, neatness  and  orderliness.  His  interest  is  sus- 
tained and  his  powers  strengthened  through  satisfac- 
tory accomplishment.  He  plans,  invents,  and  exe- 
cutes, acquires  independence  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion, and  designs  in  accordance  with  his  imagination 
and  experience. 

Very  early  in  the  child's  training,  while  the  stick 
printing  is  unfolding  the  elements  of  design  to  him, 
he  applies  his  designs  to  enrich  his  construction 
work.  It  is  the  time  for  the  child  to  begin  through 
concrete  efforts  to  get  rooted  into  his  thinking  that 
designs  are  made  to  be  applied  and  that  everything 

Page  one  hundred  twtnty-fve 


HINDU    BLOCK    PRINTED    DESIGN 
Page  one  hundred  twenty-six 


which  contributes  to  his  comfort,  happiness  and  well- 
being  exists  because  a  design  has  been  applied. 

Then  is  also  the  time  for  the  child  to  see  some 
printed  textiles  in  which  the  pattern  is  geometrical 
like  his  stick  printing. 

After  the  child  has  had  sufficient  experience  with 
type  shapes,  he  may  add  block  printing.  With  the 
knowledge  and  experience  gained  through  the  use  of 
sticks,  he  is  enabled  to  modify  the  standard  shapes. 
A  wood  block  veneered  with  linoleum  that  can  be 
easily  cut  with  a  sharp  knife  into  any  form  desired, 
and  which  maintains  a  rigid  printing  surface,  brings 
this  craft  within  his  reach. 

In  beginning  the  print  block  work  a  square  or 
rectangular  surface  may  be  cut  into  a  pleasing  group 
of  standard  shapes  involving  straight  lines  and  then 
simple  curves.  There  may  follow  at  later  intervals 
in  the  course  problems  of  increasing  difficulty  con- 
sistent with  the  ability  to  think  and  execute.  Con- 
tinued observation  of  commercial  prints  and,  if  pos- 
sible, of  fine  handicraft  is  always  in  order. 

In  connection  with  block  printing  may  well  come 
an  early  lesson  in  setting  colors. 

In  color  printing  the  color  should  be  a  part  of  the 
fiber  of  the  goods  without  the  least  injury  or  change 
in  the  texture.  Any  process  which  gums  the  fiber  or 
destroys  the  texture  is  not  beautiful  in  its  results,  and 
does  not  give  true  color  printing. 

Besides  the  method  elsewhere  referred  to,  the  fol- 
lowing will  give  excellent  results  in  block  printing. 
A  large  tin  cover  into  which  a  thick  piece  of  felt  is 
fitted  serves  as  a  color  pad.  Pains  should  be  taken 

Page  one  hundred  twenty-seven 


1 1 ,1 

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PATTERNS  FOR  PRINT  BLOCKS 

Page  one  hundred  twenty-eight 


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PRINT  BLOCKS,   PLAIN    AND  CUT.      PRINT  SHOWING   INFLUENCE   OF  STICK 
PRINTING  AND  BLOCK   PRINTING 


Page  one  hundred  twenty-nine 


to  have  the  right  quantity  of  dye  well  spread  on  the 
pad.  Too  much  color  makes  the  printing  less  clear. 
When  a  trial  on  a  piece  of  the  goods  is  right  a  large 
number  of  imprints  can  then  be  made.  The  secret  of 
good  work  is  a  nice  adjustment  of  the  color  pad  and 
then  uniformity  of  pressure  on  the  block,  both  in 
taking  color  from  the  pad  and  in  making  the  im- 
print. The  printing  is  done  on  a  flat  surface  with  a 
single  layer  of  blotter  beneath  the  textile.  Some 
fabrics  take  the  imprint  better  if  slightly  dampened. 

The  illustration  of  block  printing  is  a  specimen  of 
Hindu  work. 

The  sticks  will  find  continued  use  in  printing  con- 
necting spots  and  for  the  introduction  of  additional 
color  so  often  needed  for  enrichment. 

The  manufactured  textile  here  illustrated  was  de- 
signed by  using  stick  printing  and  block  printing. 

When  the  attainment  reached  with  sticks  and  print 
blocks  is  sufficient  to  call  for  larger  and  more  varied 
design,  it  is  time  for  the  craft  to  broaden  and  include 
stenciling. 

Stenciling  is  the  most  exacting  master  of  simplicity. 
It  teaches  one  how  to  sweep  away  all  that  is  trivial 
and  unnecessary  in  design.  It  shows  the  value  of 
broad,  flat  tones  combined  with  accurate  drawing, 
and  proves  conclusively  the  vital  importance  of  good 
composition. 

The  stenciling  process  has  been  described  so  many 
times  that  directions  for  the  work  are  not  needed. 
An  elementary  lesson  in  all-over  dyeing  can  very  ap- 
propriately be  given  in  connection  with  advanced 
block  printing  or  stenciling.  This  might  well  be 

Page  one  hundred  thirty 


STENCIL  DESIGNS.      APPLIED  STENCIL  PATTERN 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-one 


the  waxing  over  of  the  printed  or  stenciled  pattern, 
followed  by  a  dipping  for  the  ground  color. 

The  example  of  stenciling  illustrated  is  a  table 
cover.  The  material  is  natural  colored  linen.  The 
colors  were  liquid  dyes  blown  on  with  an  atomizer. 
The  bodies,  heads  and  legs  of  the  cranes  are  orange; 
the  wings  and  tails  blue.  The  flowers  and  spots  are 
purple,  the  leaves  and  stems  blue. 

Spraying  liquid  dye  with  an  atomizer  permits  not 
only  of  the  usual  direct  coloring  of  the  design  areas, 
but  also  of  resist  stenciling,  in  which  a  light  design 
is  produced  on  a  dark  background.  A  small  dark 
design  on  a  large  light  background  is  stringy  and 
thin.  The  light  seems  to  eat  into  the  edge  of  the 
design  and  minimize  its  importance.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  small  light  design  on  a  large  dark  background 
is  magnified  in  importance.  While  for  proper  con- 
trol in  either  case  we  must  adjust  the  space  relations 
of  the  design  and  background  areas,  yet  it  is  equally 
important  that  one  be  able  to  adjust  the  color  rela- 
tions of  the  design  and  background  areas. 

The  process  for  "resist"  stenciling  is  as  follows: 
The  stencil  is  laid  upon  the  surface  to  be  decorated, 
and  the  open  pattern  is  carefully  covered  with  a  thin 
layer  of  library  paste  or  paste  made  from  flour  and 
salt  water.  Flour  added  to  a  solution  of  salt  in  water 
is  the  best  preparation  we  have  found.  A  palette 
knife,  or  a  case  knife  may  be  used  to  spread  this 
paste.  The  stencil  is  at  once  lifted  and  the  color 
desired  for  the  background  is  sprayed  in  a  flat  tone 
over  the  entire  surface.  The  paste  acts  as  a  resist, 
preventing  the  penetration  of  the  color.  The  entire 
surface  is  immediately  wet  with  cold  water  and  the 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-tivo 


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STENCIL   DESIGNS 


hundred  thirty-three 


resist  washed  off.  The  stencil  is  carefully  and 
thoroughly  cleaned  in  the  same  way  and  then  pressed 
and  dried. 

This  is  especially  suitable  for  book  covers  and  end 
paper  designs,  or  mats,  where  the  pattern  does  not 
partake  of  the  nature  of  a  repeat,  as  it  is  better  to 
remove  the  resist  while  wet. 

It  is  interesting  to  stencil  the  open  pattern  in  one 
or  more  colors,  then  apply  the  resist  and  give  another 
color  to  the  background. 

Most  interesting  stenciling  has  been  done  with  two 
or  more  stencils.  To  make  these,  a  stencil  should 
be  cut  for  each  color.  Use  the  original  design  sheet 
for  one  color.  Transfer  other  color  areas  to  new 
sheets.  Make  all  sheets,  including  the  tracing  paper, 
the  same  size.  Before  tracing  lay  sheets  and  tracing 
paper  together  and  punch  coinciding  holes  in  the 
upper  corners.  Keep  these  holes  coincident  during 
the  process  of  tracing.  By  means  of  these  holes  the 
respective  stencils  are  easily  applied  so  that  the  color 
scheme  is  accurately  reproduced. 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  by  those  who  are  stencil- 
ing that  only  part  of  the  color  applied  becomes  in- 
corporated into  the  fiber  of  the  goods.  The  other 
part  is  outside  the  fiber,  adherent  to  the  goods.  This 
adherent  color  should  be  removed.  It  corresponds  to 
the  excess  color  in  dyeing,  which  we  take  pains  to 
remove  by  rinsing.  The  very  purpose  of  the  steam- 
ing, or  other  "setting"  process,  is  to  incorporate  the 
dye  into  the  fiber.  This  is  never  perfectly  accom- 
plished. There  is  always  some  excess  adherent  color 
to  be  removed. 

How  often  we  meet  the  following  experience:    A 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-four 


OLD   JAPANESE   STENCILS 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-five 


craft  worker  in  decorating  a  fabric  applies  color  until 
the  eye  is  pleased,  takes  litjtle  or  no  pains  to  incor- 
porate the  color  into  the  fiber,  and  ignores  altogether 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  color  is  only  adherent.  Later 
this  adherent  color  comes  off  (not  out)  in  the  wash. 
There  is  then  disappointment  and  complaint  against 
methods,  colors,  etc.,  when  the  real  fault  is  one  of 
workmanship.  Adherent  color  is  never  dependable. 

The  Japanese  have  been  the  masters  of  the  art  of 
stenciling.  The  technique  and  beauty  of  their  de- 
signs have  not  been  equalled  by  any  other  craftsmen. 
For  centuries  these  people  have  been  making  im- 
prints on  fabrics. 

The  old  stencils  are  more  simple  and  the  paper  of 
better  quality.  These  old  stencils  are  always  dark- 
ened by  time. 

The  stencils  shown  in  the  illustration  were  col- 
lected by  Ernest  Fenollosa,  an  authority  on  Japanese 
art. 

Little  has  been  written  about  these  stencils  but 
many  museums  and  school  art  departments  have  col- 
lections. 

In  cutting  stencils  the  Japanese  use  a  number  of 
tools.  Some  of  these  tools  are  of  the  nature  of 
punches,  being  the  shape  of  the  cut  out  place.  There 
is  no  drawing  on  the  stencil  paper,  the  workman 
looks  at  the  design  and  cuts  the  pattern  free  hand. 
The  paper,  before  cutting,  is  treated  with  oil  and  a 
kind  of  lacquer. 

The  old  stencils  were  strengthened  by  a  net  work 
of  human  hair  placed  between  two  stencils  cut  at 
the  same  time.  These  stencils  were  then  pasted  to- 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-six 


gether  with  rice  paste.  This  network  of  hair  serves 
as  ties  in  the  stencil  and  permits  a  larger  freedom  of 
design  than  is  otherwise  possible. 

The  Japanese  use  two  methods  for  stenciling,  the 
direct  coloring  method,  in  which  the  dye  is  brushed 
on  the  material  through  the  stencil,  and  the  resist 
method,  in  which  a  paste  is  rubbed  through  the 
stencil  on  the  white  goods  and  the  fabric  dyed  in  an 
all-over  bath.  The  color  is  set  by  steaming  and  the 
paste  washed  out.  This  leaves  a  white  pattern  on  a 
colored  background. 


Page  one  hundred  thirty-seven 


THE  INDEX 

Page 

Acid  colors 46 

All-over  dyeing 35-42 

Basic  colors 46 

Block  printing 126-130 

Characteristics  of  batiks 14-22 

Colors,  mixing  of 49-53 

Costumes,  decoration  of 79-85 

Crackle 14 

Designs,  old  batik 23-34 

Direct  colors 45-46 

Direct  coloring,  method  of 43-44 

Discharge  process 43-44 

Dye-baths,  preparation  of 37-39 

Dyeing  over  old  color 36,  52-53 

Dyeing,  shaded 41 

Dyes 45-49 

Dyes,  setting  of 44 

End  papers 77 

Fabrics,  drying  of 41-42 

Fabrics,  dyeing  of 35-53 

Fabrics,  preparation  of 35-37 

Frame,  batik 55,57-58 

Graying  of  colors 47-50 

High  school,  batiks  in 65-74 

History  of  batiks 11-22 

Holland,  batiks  in 12,21 

Interiors,  decoration  of 86-96 

Japan,  batiks  in 21 

Japan,  stenciling  in 136-137 

Java,  batiks  in 11-20 

Javanese  costumes 16-18 

Jewelry,  costume  77-79 

Page  one  hundred  thirty-eight 


INDEX  — Continued 

Page 

Linings 82 

Pattern  dyeing 42-45 

Petroplast  ornaments 77-79,81 

Plays  and  pageants 97-108 

Principles  of  dyeing 35-53 

Resist  processes 43-45,54-74 

Sarongs 13, 16 

Sizing 36 

Stages,  miniature 98-106 

Stencil    dyeing 130-137 

Stenciling,  Japanese 136-137 

Stenciling,  resist 132-134,137 

Stick  printing 123-127 

Stick  tying 45,116-122 

Sulphur  colors 46 

Theatre,  The  Little,  Dyeing  for 97-108 

Tie-dyed  work 109-122 

Tjanting 18,60 

Tjap 18-20 

Vat  dyes 46 

Vegetable  colors 48-49 

Wax,  batik 14,58-60 

Wax  resist  processes 54-74 

Wood,  decoration  of 54-56 


Page  One  hundred  thirty-nine 


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